


The Last Energybender: Water

by MistressOfDeath



Series: The Last Energybender [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF Harry Potter, Badass Katara (Avatar), Best Friends, Dimension Travel, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Gaang (Avatar) as Family, Magically Powerful Harry Potter, Master of Death Harry Potter, Multi, Protective Harry Potter, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Smart Harry Potter, Stubborn Katara (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:02:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 110,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24925855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressOfDeath/pseuds/MistressOfDeath
Summary: Tired of her posh treatment after the war, Iris Potter is helped by the Goblins so she could leave and live a life for herself as herself and not the Woman-Who-Conquered. Only she lands near the only tribe in the South Pole. How is her destiny going to change now? Fem! Harry.
Series: The Last Energybender [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2124012
Comments: 134
Kudos: 677





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Shifting Worlds](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24489274) by [KittyCatGracey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyCatGracey/pseuds/KittyCatGracey). 



> Okay, right now I'm testing waters with this story. If I got a good response, I'll continue. So, lemme know what you think in the comments.
> 
> I've aged Zuko by a year so this would be the age of the characters.  
> Aang: 12 Katara: 14 Sokka: 15 Zuko: 17 Iris: 19

Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

This place has had a long history. Firstly brought by the magical family of Blacks with generations of those making this place as their home. The last Black to have lived here was Sirius Orion Black, a former Azkaban escapee and a martyr to the Second Wizarding War in 1996. But he most certainly was not the last person to make it their home.

The front door opened and closed as lightly as the person could. A sound of footsteps echoed through the old and dusty hallway before a young girl of 18 appeared in the living room and settled on the couch, burying her face into her hands, not caring about smudging her makeup, not that she wore much.

"Welcome home, Mistress."

She looked up at Kreacher, who had brought her a glass of water

"Thank you" she muttered with a soft smile, took the glass, finished it in one gulp, and returning it to him, leaned back. She tucked a strand of her yellow-platinum blonde hair behind her ear as she stared into the fire.

What was she doing? Just sitting around sulking and moping. Sure no one expected _the Iris Potter_ to just jump back to her 'Saviour' duties within two weeks of the end of the war, but what they were expecting was also surreal.

Kingsley, who had been chosen as an interim Minister until a new one or he as diplomatically appointed, had made it very clear that her first priority should be healing and becoming healthy. But how was she to do that? With media, journalists, and fans following her wherever she went. Seriously Daily prophet had become a huge pain in her ass, always asking for her comments on this, thoughts on that, her upcoming actions and Merlin knows what non-sense

Ron and Hermione were in Australia, looking for Hermione's parents. Fred was gone. George had become rather detached from everyone. The whole Weasley family needed time and space. Luna was still in the hospital. Was it selfish of her to wish for some shoulder to cry on?

The last two weeks had been pretty hard on her. After the war had ended and she had been given an all-clear from Poppy, she had gotten into rebuilding the Wizarding World. It also meant she was expected to attend every single funeral and Ministry events. Don't take her wrong, she felt like it was the least she could do, but attending all those events were just a reminder of what all she and the Wizarding World had lost just to prevent a madman's tyrant rule.

She pulled out her black sandals and pulled her knees closer. With a huge sigh, she called out for Kreacher

"Yes, Mistress?"

"I'm going to bed. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them I'm not here"

Kreacher nodded.

She picked her sandals and walked upstairs to where her room was. Entering, she made her way to the bathroom, slipped out of her plain black dress and lingerie, had the hot water started, got in the tub and relaxed, mulling over her existence

It won't be wrong to say that right now, Iris Annabelle Potter was having an existential crisis.

* * *

The first thing waking up in the morning, she got ready for the day. She took one looked in the mirror, contemplating whether she should tie her blonde hair or let it be free. It was during the run after Ron had left them, Iris and Hermione had managed to get in a wizarding salon.

She had chopped her long black tresses chin length and dyed them yellow-platinum blonde. Hermione, who had already chopped off her hair, got it dyed to black from her light honey color. Everyone was looking for a black-haired green-eyed girl and a brunette with brown-eyed. No one gave a second thought to a blonde green-eyed or black-haired brown-eyed girl. She had planned on going back to black once the war ended, but somewhere she liked the new look. The blunt wavy lob with side-swept bangs easily hid her faded scar and took a lot of attention off her bright green emerald eyes. So it was good enough for her. She knew Hermione was hellbent on getting her natural brown.

She pulled over a black jumper, dark blue jeans, sports shoes, and decided to get started with her day.

_At Gringotts_

"Name?"

"Iris Potter." She deadpanned

"You have an appointment with Sharptooth. Room number 109."

Iris turned and walked towards her destination. She was here to settle her agreement with the goblins. They hated that she broke in and stole something from them. Honestly, she wasn't looking forward to this meeting, but the bank had warned her that if she failed to show for a meeting, they'd freeze all their accounts and take it all of it for themselves. Had it been just money, Iris couldn't have cared less. But her vaults also had a lot of priceless family heirlooms. Merlin knows what the goblins will do with them?

The 18-year-old was having a tough time anyway without having to worry about her possessions. She knocked twice approaching the room

"Come in" came a voice from inside

She entered

"Miss Potter" Sharptooth gave her a cut nod

"Sharptooth" she returned the nod

"Please have a seat"

She obliged

"Usually when someone steals from us, we take rather very strict action. The thieves are banned from Goblin Nation and entirely all their possessions, whatever is registered with our records are claimed by the bank"

Iris nodded with a silent gulp.

"But…" he took a deep breath "We might make an exception this time"

Iris was pretty sure she stopped breathing.

"What?" she squeaked

"We are taking rather certain things into account when we were judging the crime you and your friends committed. You were at war. And according to Griphook, the item you stole was a Horcrux. An item so vile shouldn't have been in our vaults in the first place. And on behalf of the Goblin Nation, we thank you for removing the same."

"N-No problem" she replied a little stunned

"So instead of the usual procedure, we have decided to forgive the crime with only a small fine payment"

The fine amount wasn't big. Affordable. Turned out they all had to pay for themselves. She couldn't pay for Ron and Hermione.

So she paid for herself. Since she was responsible for some loss of the Goblin Nation, namely a dragon, she wanted to personally apologize for that to them all. Sharptooth told her it wasn't necessary but conceded that if she really wanted, she could write them a formal apology.

* * *

"What's troubling you, Miss Potter?"

Iris looked up from where she was writing a formal apology to the Goblin Nation.

"N-Nothing. I'm fine" she replied but internally winced when her voice didn't sound as strong as she wanted it to be

When Sharptooth she gave her a look, she stopped, kept the parchment, pad, and quill on the table and sighed. It was the first time in the whole time someone had asked her that question. So she broke down and told him everything. She had no idea how long she would have been bottle it all up inside her

Sharptooth listening to her entirely. Didn't stop her or question her.

In the end, he just said this

"Maybe that's what you need to do"

She looked at him surprised

"You said you wished you could go away and forget everything. That's what you need. Being in the spotlight is not easy. Especially if you defeated the Dark Lord and ended a 50-year-old war. To be honest, I find it highly problematic that the whole world depended on a teenager to do something so dangerous that even adults couldn't"

To say Iris was shocked would be an understatement. No one had spoken to her like that ever. Everyone had told her it was her job, her destiny.

"B-But I can't leave"

"And why is that?"

Iris opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out, which confused her further. She always told herself she cannot leave. But she never understood why.

"Your job was to defeat to Dark Lord, that was what the prophecy stated"

Iris nodded

"It never said you had to stay and traumatize further. The events in the past weeks have troubled you a lot. Leaving might be the best thing for you"

"B-But...But who will help in rebuilding the Wizarding World?" she sharply inhaled "What about Teddy?"

Sharptooth nodded "I cannot say much for your godson, I'm afraid. But as far as the Wizarding World is concerned, I believe you've done enough service to last a lifetime."

"Where will I go?" she said that in a very small voice "I'm so famous, wherever I'll go, people are bound to recognize me"

"Say, Miss Potter, have you ever heard of Multiverse?"

Iris looked at him, thinking. Hermione may have said something vaguely similar during their time in Hogwarts, nothing she could remember solidly

Sharptooth told her what it was

"so, I can go to a whole different world?"

"Yes"

"Can I return to my homeworld?"

"Why would you want to?"

"Teddy" she replied in an instant

Sharptooth nodded "You can return. Let me get some books so I can explain it better to you" He got up and left, leaving Iris to her thoughts

Iris thought that over. She wasn't sure people cared for her here. She was pretty sure the Weasleys hated her. Teddy, her godson, no matter how much she loved him, she thought it would be better if he grew up without her and her fame( at least for the time being) if he made his own identity and not as Iris Potter's godson like she had been known her whole life as Lily and James Potter's daughter. It only took fighting a war for people to know her.

Sharptooth returned soon with a huge tomb. He opened the dusty book and started explaining it all to her. At the end of a two-hour-long lecture, all Iris said was

"How and when I can do it?"

* * *

Another week was spent tying all loose ends. She wrote elaborate letters to everyone she cared about. And a bunch of Teddy for various ages, for the sole reason that she'd fail to show up for some reason, though she wasn't planning on it. She set a small trust vault for Teddy and another one for when he'll turn 11 and then 17. She opened another trust fund for anyone who was in genuine financial trouble. Her properties were to be sealed and not used. She was planning on returning on some point at the very least, even if it was for a day

She wrote one final letter to Kingsley and sent it with a barn owl and then made her way to the Gringotts. She finished whatever was left and sighed. No point in looking back now.

When she was done, Sharptooth brought forward two boxes

"What is in those?"

He opened the first one revealing a beautiful ring. It had beautiful greenstone in the middle with two white stone and two black stones next on either side, bound in what looked like platinum

"This is the family ring of the House of Potter, Black and Peverall. We took the liberty of combining them into one. Family rings are very important Miss Potter. At times, it can even be a good substitute for a wand, if the House Magic is strong"

Iris looked at Sharptooth, then at the ring. She pulled out her wand from her jacket's inner pocket, looked at it and then at the ring

"Yes the wand can be combined with the ring"

Iris nodded only to realize she never voiced her question

Sharptooth laughed "Worry not, Miss Potter. I'm not a seer. I just got the gist"

Sharptooth then proceeded to combine them both. He returned the ring to her, which now a very detailed carving of her wand on it now. She placed it on her right-hand middle finger, eyeing it. It was beautiful

"Now you can perform wandless magic" Sharptooth chuckled, making her smile a little "and from now on, you are officially Lady Iris of Houses Potter, Black and Peverall"

She smiled in return. Not that the title mattered anymore

"The other box?" she asked

He opened it, showing a black obsidian dagger. She picked it and looked over it. It was absolutely beautiful. Even had an inscription on it. She tilted the dagger and read it

"Alis Propriis Volat" she read and smiled "She flies with her own wings. It's beautiful"

Sharptooth nodded "It was an old family heirloom of the Peveralls. As the last Peverall, you inherited it"

"One final thing, Lady Potter." He clapped once and another goblin entered, carrying a small cage in his tiny hands. Inside was a baby blue Phoenix. Iris's eyes widened. She had never seen anything so eyecatching. She had an idea how rare Phoenix actually was and to get a blue one at that? She had only seen one more- Fawkes

"Phoenix have the ability to travel through dimensions at will. Please take this Phoenix from the Goblin Nation as a present and a token of good luck"

She took the cage, opened it, and inserted her hand. The baby phoenix studied her hand for a minute, before hopping on it. She pulled her hand and started petting it

For a quick second, the phoenix's eyes flashed bright green, similar to her own eyes, before turning back to black

"What was that?" she asked, slightly alarmed

Sharptooth smiled "That was a lovely bond being established between a witch and her familiar"

The phoenix chirped and snuggled to her, giving her a painful reminder of Hedwig

Taking a deep breath, she placed the dagger inside her boot and swung a small duffel bag over her shoulder

"I'm ready"

Never in her entire life, Iris thought she'd see the arch that took away her godfather. The mist was still there. And so were the voices

"Are you sure about this?" She asked gripping the bag tighter. The phoenix, she had to come up with a name, had made a perch in her jumper's hood. She could feel her presence, so that was a welcoming reassurance

"Certainly" Sharptooth nodded "Tonight is a special night, MiLady. It is a Conjunction of Jupiter and Sturn along with a Ursids Meteor shower. This will alter the planet's magnetization and affect the magicals. Tonight is one of the rare occasions when traveling through the arch is safe."

Iris nodded

"Uh…what are the odds that wherever I'll end will have magical people?"

"50-50"

"Delightful" she muttered

Sharptooth looked at the other goblin who was carrying some contraction. He said something in Goblin language and Sharptooth nodded

"The window of safe travel would be open for only 3 minutes"

Iris nodded

She still had the time to turn away. But did she want to?

"Now is the time, Lady Potter"

Iris looked at Sharptooth with a strong nod

"Thank you for everything"

"It's been a pleasure to be of your service" he smiled back

Taking a deep breath, Iris picked the phoenix and entered, letting the calmness pass over her

* * *

Iris felt something pinch her cheek and then something wet. Slightly groaning, she opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she saw a blurry bluebird on her chest

"Phoenix?" she tiredly muttered

The baby phoenix chirped and again poked her nose

Iris let out a tired laugh and gently got up, scooping the baby phoenix in her hands

She looked around and the only thing she could see for miles was snow and glaciers.

"Okay where are we?" she asked

The baby phoenix chirped and hopped to face a certain direction. Iris squinted her eyes and got up and her eyes widened. Were they penguins with whiskers and four flappers?

"Where the fuck are we?"

She was definitely not on Earth. Nope. At least not on her Earth

Shrugging to herself, she decided to walk. She climbed over a small snow heap and eyes spotted a smoke trail. Humans, she hoped and made her way to the village.

She was so glad to have placed some warming charms on her clothes, so she wasn't feeling very cold.

Approaching the village, she could see children running around, playing and various women working around. It wasn't a big village. But looked closely knit. A small smile formed on her lips

A girl noticed her

"Hi" she approached her. She dark mocha skin, brightest blue eyes Iris had seen. Her dark brown hair, almost black, was braided with two loops in front leading to the braid. She was dressed in a total blue palette and wore some thick stuff that looked highly comfortable.

"Hello," Iris smiled "Uh…I'm kind of lost and I have no idea where I am. I just saw the smoke and thought I could get some help"

"You are at the South Pole at the Southern Water tribe" the girl answered

That confused Iris. The South Pole, she could believe but what the hell was Water Tribe?

"Hey, who are you talking to?"

Iris saw a guy appear next to the girl, measuring her. He had a similar skin tone, same eyes, and wore the same types of clothes. His hair was tied back in a ponytail, sides shaved.

"Who are you?" he asked

"She's lost" The girl answered for her, sounding tired. It looked like a common thing between the two

"Or she could be Fire Nation, here to spy on us!" The boy told her, pointing a finger at Iris, almost touching her nose

Iris frowned and pushed the hand down "I have no idea what you just said, But I can assure you, I'm not from Fire Nation and I'm not here to spy on you. I'm a traveler. I got stuck in a snowstorm and hit my head pretty hard. I'm just lost. If you can just show me the way where I can find help, I'll happy to leave you all alone"

"Well we are the only village in the South Pole actually" The girl replied

"Oh" Iris muttered

"Are you okay, though? You said you were hurt" the girl asked, taking a step forward

Iris rubbed the side of her head. Now to think of it, it was slightly throbbing

"Just a little rough"

"Come inside, please. We can help. I'm Katara. This is my brother Sokka"

"Iris"

* * *

Once Katara looked over her and fixed her some food, she left. She was introduced to Sokka and Katara's grandmother, who asked to be called Gran-Gran.

She was sitting inside an igloo, regaining her composure. The phoenix, she really needed to think of a name, chirped and hopped inside the hood, snuggling to her neck.

It was then she heard the two siblings arguing again

"But she could be trouble!"

"For the last time, she's not Fire Nation. She's got green eyes, Sokka. That usually means the Earth Kingdom"

Iris frowned. Whatever was Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom?

"If she turned out to be trouble, it's on you. And I will say, 'I told you so'!"

"Fine!"

Iris hated to be the reason for the fight between two siblings. So when Katara entered her igloo to check on her,

"If you guys want, I can leave the first thing in the morning" she proposed "I don't want to cause any more problems than I already have"

Katara's eyes slightly widened before she shook her head with a soft smile "Sokka's just a little paranoid. He's come around eventually"

"Thank you for everything" she smiled

Katara smiled back "No problem" and then stopped "What's that?"

Iris looked her shoulder from where the baby phoenix was peeking. She scooped her up in her hands

"This is….Neva. My phoenix"

Katara grinned and went to pet Neva, who got very comfortable under her touch

"She's beautiful."

"From what I've heard, they become more beautiful once they grow up" Iris informed

"where did you get her?"

"A friend gave her to me as a gift"

Only then Sokka also entered the igloo

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed

"I just wanted to see what was taking you so l-" he stopped "Is that a chick?"

"Yeah" katara nodded "She's Neva, Iris's phoenix"

"Aren't you cute!"

Iris was slightly taken aback at the turn of Sokka's attitude. As the siblings were being enamored by Neva, who for some reason loved the attention, Iris decided to remove her boots, which apparently got Sokka's attention

"what's that?" he asked

Iris followed his gaze-the dagger

"It's an obsidian dagger" she replied "A family heirloom" she showed it to Sokka

He took it and checked it "Do you know how to use it?"

Iris nodded "I do. After all, I had to learn how to defend myself at quite a young age"

Iris saw the expecting looks of the two siblings and sighed, pulling her knees closer and resting her chin on it. Hagrid's statement-"I shouldn't have said that", echoed in her head. She really shouldn't have said that last sentence. These kids, who helped her so much, deserved more than her sob story.

she sighed again. The troubles she stirs for herself

"My parents were murdered when I was a baby. People who raised me hated me and bullied me whenever they got the chance. They hurt me" her voice got thicker. It was harder to admit that the Dursleys abused her out loud than she thought "I ran away from home when I was 13. I couldn't take more of the abuse. I lived with a friend for some time, but then some stuff happened. And I couldn't stay. Some of my friends were…they died in an attack. I survived. And the chance I got, I ran off. I don't know how I ended here. Just that I did."

She sighed and looked at them "I'm sorry you had to hear that"

"The Fire Nation took away your family?" Sokka softly asked

Iris took a deep breath "From where I come from, there's no Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom or Water Tribe. I come from a different world"

"No way" Sokka whispered, jaw-dropping

Iris smiled softly

"Actually that would explain your white hair, your weird clothes and weird blue phoenix"

"I guess" Iris chuckled softly

Iris looked at Katara who kept a hand on her hand

"Now you have a family"

* * *


	2. The Avatar Returns

It had been a whole year since Iris landed at the Southern Water Tribe. Slowly she learned about the 100-year war that was still raging. She learned about benders. Katara showed herself to be a waterbender, even if an amateur one. And one day, when alone, Iris discovered the spells worked here too. But instead of saying the incantation, all she had to do was to say the incantation in her head. This world made her magic stronger.

And over the year, Sokka and Katara had also grown on her and vice versa. Katara became her best friend and Sokka was like a little brother she never had. She became an integral part of the tribe, quite famous for having snow-white hair. She had charmed her hair after a few days of arrival, so instead of platinum blonde, it was platinum white now. Though, she still kept the same length beachy waves.

Neva had also grown up half her body size and she had grown beautiful.

She finished preparing the canoe and sighed.

"Sokka! Katara! Are you guys gonna wait till sunset?" she called

"Coming!" Katara replied, Sokka behind her, looking tired

"You okay?" Iris asked Sokka

"Sleepy" he muttered

She chuckled "I can go if you wanna sleep in"

"Hey, not fair!" Katara snapped, hands on her hips "Iris does all the work. Make yourself useful, Sokka"

"I should go" Sokka muttered

Next thing, a wave of ice-cold water hit Sokka's face

"Wake up!"

Sokka blinked like an owl for a second before frowning

"Guys please" Iris intercepted before the two could start fighting "Fishing first. Fighting Later"

* * *

Iris, for as close as she was to the siblings, expected a lot of things from the two. But picking a stray kid instead of fish was unexpected. She knew Katara had a habit of picking strays, she could tell.

This kid looked quite young and had a blue arrow tattoo over his bald head. And with him was a big furry …beast? She didn't know

Katara and Sokka introduced the kid, Aang to everyone, who turned out to be an Airbender. Something that she didn't understand. From what she was told, airbenders were extinct. So what was this kid doing alive?

"And Aang, this is Iris. My best friend"

Iris smiled and extended her hand. Aang nervously shook her hand. And in a second her eyes widened

This kid…..was not ordinary, to say least. He was very powerful. He was not a normal bender. Who was he?

While Katara and Aang left to do god knows what, she was left alone to ponder. She decided to start with dinner since it'd be sunset pretty soon and she had a huge meal to prepare.

"You okay?"

Iris nodded

Sokka sat next to her "I don't trust that kid"

Iris looked at him. Sure Sokka was paranoid, but Iris found rather a good quality. He didn't accept everything the way it was.

Neva came to perch on her shoulder and snuggled to her

"Hey girl" Iris smiled

"You aren't gonna say anything?" he asked

"I don't know Sokka. Aang is the first Airbender spotted in, like what, 100 years?"

"That's right"

Iris hummed

"Even you think something's weird with him, right? I knew it!"

"Sokka, wait," Iris said, grabbing back his attention "I'm not saying something's weird about Aang. He's just…different"

Whatever Sokka was going to say was interrupted by a flash signal shot in the sky.

"Tell me you saw that" Sokka muttered next to her

"I did" she replied. And it only meant one thing. Fire Nation was just signaled.

"I knew it! the kid's a Fire Nation Spy" He got up swiftly.

"Sokka, wait" Iris stood up "Where's Katara?"

* * *

When Katara and Aang returned, Sokka and the rest of the villagers were not happy. Iris stood on the side, arms and ankles crossed as she looked at the scene unfold in front of her. Sokka was yelling at the two and finally asked Aang to leave, banishing him. Katara tried vouching for him, but Gran-Gran pulled her inside the village. She shot a requesting look to Iris, but Iris just shook her head. It'd best if Aang left, even if he was someone different. She'd never risk the safety of the people who took her in without a second thought.

Once Aang left on his pet, Iris looked at Neva, who was still on her shoulder,

"Canvass the waters" she muttered

Neva chirped with a nod and flew off

* * *

Neva returned 15 minutes later, trilling loudly. A warning. Fire Navy was approaching

Iris stood there as the Fire Navy ship came crashing their boundary. Sokka had planned on attacking, but Iris had stopped him. It was pointless. Besides Sokka was just a kid. He would have his ass handed to him in two seconds. Instead, she got him to protect the village elders and women

Zuko stepped out of the ship, looking around. But the Airbender was nowhere to be seen. He scanned the crowd. No Airbender. But someone did catch his eyes. It was a girl, around his age. He had never seen such white hair. It almost….looked ethereal if he said so himself. A strict complement to her pale skin and bright green eyes. In no way was she water tribe, sh was a stark contrast, despite wearing water tribe clothes.

But he was here for some other reason.

"Where are you hiding him?" he looked around the village but no response came. Frustrated, he went to grab the closest old lady, who was behind the white-haired girl, but the girl grabbed his arms, turned and twisted it, and pushed him back.

Iris was mad. First, his asshole comes barging into their home and now tries to lay his filthy hands on Gran-Gran. Not on her watch. As he found his footing, he raised his head and glared at her

"Has no one taught you to respect the elders?" she asked, half taunting, half angry. A kid with a scarred face was the last thing to intimidate her.

He seemed he was about to attack her but stopped

"I'm looking for the Avatar," he said instead "He'd be an old man. Master of all elements"

The metaphorical bulb in Iris' head went off. Aang was the Avatar!

Well, that would explain why he felt stronger.

Frustrated at no response, he launched gout of flame towards the villagers. Iris barely managed to shield people behind her and she lowered her head and protected her face with her arms

"Are you crazy?!" she demanded. One more move out of line, she was sure to hex the hell outta him

"I know you are hiding him!" he yelled

"We are hiding no one!" she yelled back

Before anything more could happen, she noticed something perispherically. And soon Aang appeared sledding on a penguin, sweeping the fire-kid right through his feet and stopped in front of them. The fire kid fell on his face, which elicited a small giggle from her. She really couldn't help it. The kid got up and growled at her or Aang, she couldn't tell. The penguin bucked Aang off, got up and waddled off

"Hey, Katara. Hey Sokka. Hey Iris" he grinned

"Hey…Aang. Thanks for comin'" Sokka dryly said

The fire kid got up and got his stance. Aang took his own stance. The men start to close in, but Aang blew them off with a strong gust of wind from his staff. While others blew off, the kid managed to keep his footing.

"Looking for me?" Aang asked

"You're the Airbender? You are the Avatar?!" Fire kid asked incredulously "I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!"

"Well, you're just a teenager." Aang shot back

"Aang?" Katara whispered

"No way" Sokka's eyes widened

"Huh" Iris scoffed "Took you two long enough" she muttered

The shocked looked were now directed towards her

"You knew?" Katara asked

Iris shrugged "I figured after you brought him"

She suddenly ducked the villagers and herself at another gout of flame. She saw Aang looking over his shoulder in worry. Their eyes locked for a second and Iris realized what he was going to do. Her eyes slightly widened and she shook her head, but Aang apparently decided to ignore her

"If I go with you, will you leave everyone alone?" he asked

The fire kid stopped and stood straighter. He nodded. Aang lowered his staff as the soldiers got him and hauled him up towards the ship.

"No Aang, don't do this" Katara exclaimed

"Don't worry Katara. it will be fine." He grunted as they push him roughly "Take care of Appa for me until I get back"

Iris nodded with a wry smile

The fire kid followed. Once at the threshold, he looked over his shoulder once.

Iris frowned and raised her middle fingers at him (apparently, they held the same meaning here)

"Head a course to the Fire Nation. I'm going home"

With that, the ship left

Following that, she grunted loudly and vanished to her igloo

The kid gave himself up for the village. The least she could do was set him free. And if he was the Avatar, he needed someone to train him. And who better than a war veteran like herself. She couldn't teach him how to bend elements, but she could teach him so much more. If any of her old friends were here, they would tease her about her 'people savings thing' but won't stop her. And damn right she had a problem.

She quickly changed into black skinny jeans, a black jumper, a black vest on top. She pulled her blue parka on top. She hid the obsidian dagger inside her knee-length black boots and packed another small duffel. She looked one last time in the mirror. She hadn't looked this in about a year.

Once she was sure, she walked out, to see Gran-Gran heading somewhere out of the village, carrying something in her arms

She followed him to a small river where a canoe was with Sokka and Katara, looking ready to leave

"You thought you could leave without me?" she asked, grabbing the attention of the three "Fat chance" she scoffed

"You'll need this" Gran-gran said, handing a packaged bundle to Sokka "You have a long journey ahead of you. It's been so long since I've hand hope. But you brought it back to my life, my little waterbender" she gave a hug to Katara "And you, my brave warrior, be nice to your sister"

She hugged Sokka

"Yeah…okay, gran," he said uncomfortably, making both the girls giggle

"And you" Gran-gran turned to Iris

"I'll look after them" she nodded

"And yourself too, my flower"

Iris smiled

With a loud squeak, Neva landed on Iris' shoulder, looking proud and flamboyant as her usual self

"You too" Gran-Gran chuckled "Look after them, Neva"

Neva nodded proudly

"Aang is the Avatar. He's the world's only chance. You both found him for a reason." She then addressed all three of them "You three helped him for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with his"

The three nodded

Katara turned to the canoe "There's no way we're gonna catch a warship with a canoe"

"Have you given that big ball of fur a thought?" Iris asked, jabbing her thumb towards where Appa was, who grumbled

"Appa!" Katara exclaimed

"You both love to take me out of my comfort zone, don't ya" Sokka asked, dryly

"That's where the fun lies" Iris placed an arm around his shoulders and grinned

They managed to haul everything on top of Appa's saddle and got up. But instead of flying, Appa started swimming in the water

"Go. Fly. Soar" Sokka folded his arms and said drearily

"Please, Appa, we need your help. Aang needs your help" Katara requested

"Up. Ascend. Elevate" Sokka continued

Iris rolled her eyes "There must be a trigger word or something."

Appa rumbled in response

"What was it that the kid?" Sokka asked "hup-hup? Wahoo? Uh…yip yip?"

Suddenly Appa rumbled again and began to flop his massive beavertail. Hopping along the surface of the water, he finally picked enough speed to finally take off into the sky

"You did it, Sokka!" Katara said ecstatically

Even Sokka looked ecstatic "He's flying! He's flying! Katara, Iris! He's f-" he stopped seeing the smug looks on both the girls. He suddenly turned nonchalant "I mean big deal, he's flying."

"Now let's find that bloody ship" Iris muttered

"Hey Iris"

Iris looked at Sokka with hum

"I haven't seen you in those clothes since you arrived"

Iris looked over herself once

"It's easier to fight in"

"Fight?" Sokka tried real hard to keep the tremble out of his voice

"Just because it is one ship, doesn't mean we shouldn't expect one" she replied

* * *

It took them another five minutes to spot the ship.

"Don't get too close" Iris told Katara, who nodded back.

Once Aang spotted them, he started fighting them, but mostly deflected the fire kid, who kept on blasting fire at him, pushing him back further. Aang kept on rotating his staff to deflect the fire but to vain. And suddenly he was on the edge of the deck. He dodged a few more shot before he was finally knocked overboard into the cold water

"Aang! No!" Katara called, hysterical

She kept on calling his name and suddenly Iris sensed some currents. And soon Aang breached the surface, eyes, and tattoo glowing, in the middle of a huge whirlpool of water. He lands on the deck, eyes, and tattoo still glowing. He bent the water from the column around him in a circle, releasing it and expanding it outward in a shockwave that ended up blasting fire-kid and his men overboard

"Did you see what he just did?" Katara asked in awe

"No that was some waterbending!" Sokka grinned

Iris really couldn't believe what she saw. Honestly, if it wasn't for her own eyes witnessing it all, she would have never believed it. And then she noticed Aang's face untwisting and calming

"Aang's losing it. Go down, Kat"

Katara guided Appa on the deck

"Get Aang," she told Katara and jumped off Appa and the three made their way to Aang

"Hey Katara, Sokka, Iris. Thanks for coming" Aang tiredly said

"Don't mention it kid" Iris smiled and looked around. The soldiers were getting back onboard. And there also stood a man, eyeing her. She stood up, shielding the three kids

"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory" Sokka chuckled

"I dropped my staff," Aang said

Iris looked around spotting the staff. She muttered a quick _Accio_ and grabbed the staff, tossing it to Sokka just as the fire kid climbed over the deck

"Get on Appa. We are leaving" she ordered

"No, you are not" the fire kid replied. She seriously needed to know his name.

"Go!" she called over her shoulder. Sokka carefully got Aang over Appa. As other men also started getting overboard. Iris got in her stance, ducking over the first fire thrown at her. For the next one, she conjured a protégé shield, taking the fire head-on. Once the flames stopped, she lowered the shield, and with a quick _Locomotor Mortis_ followed by a Petrificus Totalus. A few more well-placed spells. Not enough to bring them down, but enough to let them escape

"Iris!" Sokka called

She did a Lumos Maxima and using that as a distraction as the Fire Nation got blinded, jumped on Appa, who immediately took off

"Shoot them off!" Fire kid ordered and huge fireball came towards them, which Iris took down without a sweat with a Reducto. She looked down at a glacier

"Bombarda maxima" she muttered, aiming at the base of the glacier. The glacier shook and soon came crashing down on the ship, halting it entirely.

Iris took a deep breath and sat down. She sighed and ran a hand through her windblown platinum hair to notice three wide-eyed looks being shot at her

"what?" she asked

"How did you do that?" Sokka all but squeaked

"How about we get out here first?" she asked

Once they were at a safe distance, Sokka spoke up

"How did you do that?" he repeated

"Mag-" she replied easily

"You are an energy-bender!" Aang exclaimed

"If that's what we are called here" she shrugged

"'We'?" Aang asked, sitting on the bridge of the saddle cross-legged "There's more like you?"

"Wait. Hold up!" Katara said "What's an energy bender? I have never heard of them"

"Energy benders had gone extinct about 10,000 years ago. They were able to bend the purest forms of elements: energy. I learned about them in history lessons. They are said to be the strongest" Aang explained.

Okay Iris had no idea about that

"How'd they get extinct?" Sokka asked

"I think it was internal disputes," Aang thought for a few seconds "Civil war like stuff. But no energy bender had been spotted in over 100 centuries. Up until you!" his eyes lit up

"Okay, what?" Iris asked and proceeded to say something but stopped.

Neva perched on her shoulder and then down her lap, chirping at her

"Who's that?" Aang asked

"That's Iris' phoenix, Neva" Sokka answered

"No way!" Aang beamed "Phoenix were animal companions of energy benders for generations, just like flying-bisons are of Airbenders. They had also gone extinct"

"Okay. Okay. This is kind of over my head for me." She sighed and ran her hand through her white hair once more "So that makes me the last energy-bender here, I guess"

"The only energy bender, I'm afraid" Aang replied softly

"How long have you known you can bend energy?" Katara asked her

"Since I was 11. So, let's say about 8 years"

"Wow." Aang smiled "You said there were more like you!"

"There are. But you won't find them"

"Why?"

Iris sighed loudly "It's a long story and I'm kind of tired. Sorry"

Using battle magic after a whole year seemed more tiring than what she had pictured. She was incredibly rusty in her skills

She half lied down and looked at Aang

"How did you do that water-whirlpool thing? I was bloody incredible, I must say" Iris smiled

"Yeah!" Katara grinned "It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen"

"I don't know. I just sort of…did it"

"Wait" Sokka raised his hand slightly "That's how you knew he was the Avatar!"

"You knew?" Aang asked, a bit guilty

"I felt it" she shrugged

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" Katara asked Aang

"Because I never wanted to be" Aang muttered sadly

Iris narrowed her eyes. In the last year, she had spent at the tribe, she had not given the Wizarding World, not much thought. But now that she looked at this, 12-13ish kid going through something she found highly relatable, she could see her younger self in him. When she found out about that prophecy. That it was her job to defeat the Dark Lord. She was 15 and that still did a number on her. Aang was younger.

Iris closed her eyes as she vaguely heard the three discuss Aang's training of other elements. And a plan to their destination was created- the North Pole.

"and Sokka and Iris will get to knock some Firebender heads on the way"

She could picture Katara grinning at her

"I'd like that. I'd really like that" Sokka replied

Personally, she wasn't all that interested in knocking firebender heads. She was more interested in kicking the fire kid's arse. For some reason, he reminded her of Malfoy. She never got a chance to do that. Might as well compensate here.

Taking a deep breath, she mentally swore. No matter what comes, she will not let Aang make the same mistakes she did. The kid needed his childhood more than tactical training. And she would do anything to make sure he got to live his childhood

"Iris?"

Iris opened her eyes to find three of them looking at her

"What? I thought I was already part of the team" she smiled, which made the rest of them grin "And you three need someone to keep you in line"

Iris could feel sleep taking over her. She was going to sleep when she realized something

"Hey, guys, you won't happen to know tha name of that kid on deck right?" she asked

"the one with the scarred face?" Aang asked

Iris nodded

"I think he was called Prince Zuko"

"Zuko" Iris nodded to herself "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up if something interesting happens"

"Okay" Katara smiled and Iris drifted to sleep, Neva wrapping her wings around her, as a habit

* * *


	3. The Southern Air Temple

Despite being Water Tribe for a year, Iris had the habit of being the first person to wake up in the whole village. Old habits die hard.

So when she woke up early morning, she realized they had stopped at some island. And that she was still asleep on top of Appa, while others were sleeping on the ground. Why hadn't they woken her up?

She stretched, Neva waking up with her.

She shredded her jacket, happily welcoming the cool morning breeze. She quietly jumped of Appa as Neva landed on her shoulder

"How about we check out the island?" she asked. Neva nodded

She two walked inside the small forest. It was something she learned from her war days. Neva flew overhead, managing to converse with local animals. They picked some edible fruits, just in case they run out of food, and canvassed the whole island. It wasn't big or something.

By the time she came back, both Aang and Katara were awake. How long was she gone?

Aang was sitting on Appa's head, adjusting the saddle, looking like Christmas came early

"Wait 'til you see it, Katara. The Air temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world"

Iris stood against a tree, arms and ankles crossed a small smile on her face

"Aang, I know you are excited, but It's been a hundred years since you've been home" Katara cautiously warned

"that's why I'm so excited!"

"It's just that a lot can change in all that time"

"I know, but I need to see it for myself"

Aang floated down and started making his way to Sokka, still sleeping in his sleeping bag. He suddenly stopped noticing her standing there in the background

"Iris!" he smiled "You are back!"

"Hey kid" she smiled, pushing herself off the tree and making her way towards others "You seem excited"

"I am!"

"Where had you gone?" Katara asked "I was a bit worried when I found your jacket. Neva was missing too"

"We went looking around"

A scream got the girl's attention as Sokka hopped around still inside his sleeping bag until he tripped and fell down face first. Aang laughed, Katara giggled, and Iris just chuckled.

"In the future, let's just try not to scare anyone awake, okay?" Iris smiled at Aang, who nervously rubbed the back of his bald head

"Okay," he chuckled "And now that you are awake, Sokka, let's go!"

Once everyone was set and ready on Appa, he took off and they started making their way towards the Southern Air Temple.

* * *

Iris had this weird feeling in her stomach that she really couldn't get rid of. It felt like a pit. She sat in her corner of the saddle absentmindedly petting Neva

"So, Iris, how come you are the last energy-bender in the last 100 centuries?" Aang asked

She looked up, out of her thoughts "Huh, what?"

"Are you okay?" Katara asked, worry in her voice "You seem a little off"

Iris sat straighter and ran a hand through her platinum waves

"I don't know." She replied "I haven't used my…abilities in over a year. I'm just feeling some feedbacks"

"How come?" Sokka asked

"Uh…" Iris pressed her lips

"And how come you are the last energy bender if there hasn't been one in 100 centuries?" Aang asked

"Are you sure one didn't pop up during the last 100 years?"

Aang shook his head "They were actually extinct. In fact, had even one energy bender been alive, the 100-year war wouldn't have happened. Legend has it that a master energy bender can be as powerful as the Avatar"

Sokka and Katara's wide eyes looked at her, Iris returned the look I bewilderment

"You are kidding" iris muttered

"I wish. But that was what I read in stories and what I was told of" Aang shrugged

"I had no clue. You are just dumping heaps of information on me, Aang" Iris replied

"Sorry"

"No, it's okay. It's good to know"

"Iris" Sokka started "When you first came, you said you come from a faraway place"

Iris took a deep breath. She knew she had to tell them eventually. Before she could speak, Sokka's stomach grumbled, making him groan. He looked through their food supply finding the packet empty. He turned it upside down ad shook it. Only the crumbles fell.

His stomach grumbled again, earning laughs from others

"Hey stomach, be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find some food."

He searched more food bangs but nothing but crumbles came out

"Hey! Who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?" he asked

"Oh, that was food? I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry" Aang rubbed the back of his head

"You WHAT?!" Sokka asked incredulously, facing Aang then cried "Awww, no wonder the flames smelled so good"

"Neva and I picked some fruits" Iris took out the fruits they had plucked while on the island. Sokka drove in like a starving man, earning giggles and laughs. Aang and Katara also took a few fruits and so did iris

"So how far is this temple?" Iris asked

Aang looked around and jumped pointing at the mountain range

"The Batola mountain range! We're almost there!"

Iris exchanged a look with Katara and nodded

"Aang" she cautiously said "Before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders"

"What about 'em?" Aang asked

Katara opened her mouth but Iris cut her

"We just want you to be prepared for what you might see, kid. From what I've heard, Fire Nation wasn't one for mercy and sympathy. They've killed a lot of people, destroyed towns and cities. No one knows what really happened to Airbenders"

Aang stayed calm for a minute, absorbing the information

"Just because no one has seen an Airbender doesn't mean the fire-nation killed them all" He turned to face forward "They probably escaped" he shrugged and then looked over his shoulder once more, "Everyone thought Energybenders were extinct. But we have one right here"

Iris rolled her eyes. But a fond smile stayed on her face. His naivety was amazing and surprised her but in a good way.

"We know it can be hard to accept" Katara added

"You don't understand. The only way to get on an Airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison"

"Aang" Iris softly spoke "Just…please don't keep your hopes high"

Aang didn't respond to that, just flew Appa higher, turning tightly around a mountain face. Katara, Sokka, and Iris hold on tightly on the saddle, straining against the wind sheer the faster they move. Iris had one arm are wrapped around Neva. She was a beautiful phoenix but she was still a baby. And then the force was over as they flew up and over a rocky outcropping and treetops to reveal the tall spires of the Southern Air temple behind it.

"There it is….the Southern Air Temple"

Iris could hear the grin in his voice and that increased the pit feeling in her stomach.

"It's amazing" Katara smiled

"Bloody brilliant" Iris looked over the whole place. It was beautiful. Pity Fire Nation destroyed this. The pit feeling doubled when she heard Aang say

"We're home"

* * *

Appa landed on a huge landing platform with a path leading up. The four people got off and headed for the temple. Neva took off to explore the area around by herself. Suddenly Aang took off, racing ahead of them, excited to explore his home

"He's not going to be happy" Iris muttered

Katara shot her a concerned glance but didn't say anything.

"So, where do I get something to eat?" Sokka asked

Iris frowned at him and Katara smacked his head

"You just ate fruits" Katara frowned

"But I'm still hungry" Sokka cooed

Iris rolled her eyes "Sokka, try controlling your appetite. We aren't going to get all three meals now that we are on the road all the freakin' time"

Sokka gave her a mock salute "Aye-aye Captain." Then gave her puppy eyes "Make this one small exception"

Iris just rolled her eyes

"You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an Airbender temple and all you can think of is food?" Katara demanded

"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs" Sokka replied and then looked at her

Iris shrugged and looked ahead to see Aang stopping at the edge of the path. Once the three make it to him, he pointed at a field

"So that's where my friends and I would play airball"

"Looks exciting" Iris smiled. Aang returned her smile. He then pointed at a small parapet cut into the rock face below the path "And over there would be where the bison would sleep…and…" he sighed, trailing off

"What's wrong?" Katara softly asked

"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds" he sighed again "I can't believe how much has changed"

Iris took a deep breath and exchanged a look with the siblings who were urging her to comfort Aang. Iris exhaled and approached Aang, crouching to his height

"Aang, it's been about 100 years since you came here. Things were bound to change. Maybe we can find someplace in the temple that is still intact. Maybe some secret room or something? You wouldn't happen to know of any ancient secrets of Airbenders, now would you? I promise we won't tell anyone, oh the great Avatar!"

That got a chuckle out of Aang "I don't know about ancient secrets, but there is a secret room. I can show you where it is"

"We'd love that"

Aang turned and jogged away

"We need to be a little gentle around him," she told the two, who nodded back

"Iris," Sokka began "You know you can't protect him forever, right?"

"I know" she replied

"Doesn't mean we cannot try" Katara added

Sokka slightly frowned "Katara, Firebenders were here. You can't pretend they weren't"

"I can for Aang's sake" Katara snapped and jogged to Aang

"What's wrong with her?" Sokka muttered in frustration

"She's a teenager, Sokka. Take it from me, they are hard to understand. "

The two share a look and jog up to Katara, who looked over her shoulder at them

"If he finds out that the Fire Nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated."

"Kat, he's bound to know eventually. Like Sokka said, we cannot protect him all the time. He has to learn to protect himself" Iris added

Before they continue the conversation further, Aang called for them

"Hey, guys!"

The three exchanged a quick look and made their way to him. He standing in front of a statue of a meditating monk.

"I want you to meet somebody," Aang said

"Who's that?" Sokka asked

"Monk Gyatso, the greatest Airbender in the world. He taught me everything I know." Aang answered, bowing to the statue

Iris took a step forward and looked at the statue carefully. For some reason, this Monk Gyatso gave her little Dumbledore vibes. Not the manipulative Dumbledore, but the one who was wise and guided her when needed. And tried to give her dating advice. Ugh...

"You must miss him." she heard Katara say

She didn't know about Aang, but she, for sure, didn't miss Dumbledore

"Yeah," Aang replied then suddenly perked up and started jogging towards the temple

"Where are you going?" Katara asked

Aang paused at the stairs and looked at them "The Air Temple Sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet." and then ran off

The three exchanged looks, shrugged, and followed him. They soon appeared in a hallway. It was huge. At the end were huge wooden doors and some complex lock-like thing. It was an enormous woodcut comprised of three air symbols protruding from its surface. They were arranged in a triangular pattern. The symbols were attached to tubes that end in two horns near the bottom of the woodcut.

"But Aang... no one could have survived in there for a hundred years." Katara reasoned

"It's not impossible. I survived in the iceberg for that long." Aang replied

"Actually, you being the Avatar kept you alive. That spirit, energy, whatever you guys call it, kept your alive. I don't really believe any other Airbender had that"

Aang didn't reply, but Sokka slightly elbowed her

"Good point" he whispered

"Iris, whoever's in there might help me figure out this Avatar thing!" Aang said

"I'm really hoping you are right, kid." iris replied and then sighed, lowering her voice "For your sake, I really hope"

Sokka, still in his hunger state, rubbed his hands together in fevered anticipation "And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious, cured meats!"

He rushed forward and ran straight into the door with a 'thunk.' He strained against the big door to no avail and slid down to the floor in defeat. Iris just smacked her forehead.

"I don't suppose you have a key?" Sokka asked with a stupid grin

"The key, Sokka, is airbending." Aang smiled

Aang composed himself and drew in his breath. He raised both his arms perpendicular to his body, then suddenly pushed forward with his arms and stepped forward with his right leg. He airbent two jets of air, one from each arm, into the horns at the bottom of the woodcut. The air ran through the tubes and one by one flip the air symbols from the blue sides which had been showing to the maroon sides, which had been facing the interior of the temple. As each turn, it flipped another mechanism on the outside of the door unlocked it. The two left of the door open to reveal the dark, cavernous interior of the Air Temple Sanctuary.

"Let's be a little careful" Iris warned "Aang?"

Aang nodded and walked in

"Hello? Anyone home?" he called entering. The other three followed him. Iris slightly winced at the tapping sound her boots made. She made a self note of placing some silencing charms on her combat boots. As they entered, they spotted many statues arrayed in a pattern. A bluish-yellow brick road patterned on the floor along with which the statues were placed. The four waked along with the statues, heading to the center of the room

"Statues?! That's it? Where's the meat?" Sokka demanded

"Behave" Iris deadpanned. Sokka just shot her a puppy-dog look, which she ignored

"Who are all these people?" Katara asked

"I'm not sure, but it feels like I know them somehow," Aang answered uncertainly

Iris turned and headed in a different direction, where she spotted a statue of a female. She was wearing what she guessed were Airbender robes, an Airbender wooden necklace and had an arrow tattooed on her head, like Aang

"This one's an Airbender. I think" Iris informed

Sokka and Katara approached her and Katara pointed at the statue next to the Airbender "And this one's a waterbender."

"Then that makes her Earthbender and him a Firebender," Iris said

"They're lined up in a pattern. Air, water, earth, and fire." Sokka added

"That's the Avatar cycle." Aang realized

"Of course!" Katara exclaimed "They're Avatars. All these people are your past lives, Aang." she looked at the young Airbender

"Wow! There's so many!" Aang said in awe

Iris looked around, eyeing the extent of statues. Once they covered all the floor, the statues continued up the wall in a similar spiral fashion. And there were a lot of them

"You've lived for a long time, haven't you?" Iris asked offhandedly

"I guess" Aang replied

"Past lives? You girls really believe in that stuff?" Sokka scoffed

"Sure why not" Iris shrugged "What's wrong in believing in stuff like reincarnation?"

Sokka still seemed indifferent

"It's true. When the Avatar dies he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle." Katara said

Aang moved forward and stopped in front of a statue of a Firebender Avatar. Iris looked over him. For someone to find out that they had so many past lives, it can be quite shocking. And she personally had no idea how a 12-year-old kid is going handle so much pressure. She frowned a little when she saw his eyes dazing over. That was not supposed to happen, was it?

She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder

"Kid?" she asked but got no response. His grey eyes still dazed over, were locked with the eyes of the Firebender Avatar Statue

"Aang!" She called again, tightening her hold on his shoulder. No response, but it attracted Katara and Sokka's attention

"Aang, snap out of it!" Katara loudly snapped

"Huh?" Aang asked his daze breaking. Whatever it was, it gave weird chills to Iris. Something was different about this room.

"Who is that?" Katara asked

"That's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me," Aang answered

"You were a firebender?" Sokka crossed his arms " No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."

"You never trust anyone who isn't Southern Water Tribe" Iris scoffed, earning a giggle from Katara and scoff from Sokka

"That is not true" he snorted

Katara shook her head and looked at Aang "There's no writing. How do you know his name?"

"I'm not sure... I just know it somehow." Aang answered

"You just couldn't get any weirder!" Sokka said in frustration

Iris eyed him "That was Aang in his previous life. Why are you even surprised he remembers his name?"

Before Sokka could retort, they hear a weird movement at the entrance of the room

Sokka, Katara, and Aang behind the statues, while Iris just rolled her eyes

"Firebender. Nobody makes a sound." Sokka whispered then noticed that Iris was still in view "What are you doing Iris?"

Iris rolled her eyes again. She seemed to do a lot in the presence of these kids lately "One, Neva would have raised a racket if there was a Firebender nearby. Two, Don't you need flying-bisons to get here? Last I checked Firebenders don't have them"

She walked towards the door and spotted a small lemur-like animal. She crouched, giving the animal an inviting smile and extending her arms. The lemur checked her over then slowly jumped in her arms. She smiled, scratching the top of his head with her nails, making the lemur purr.

"Iris?" Aang called

She turned with a smile, lemur in her arms

"Lemur!" Aang exclaimed, running to her

"Dinner..." Sokka exclaimed, drooling

The lemur suddenly got scared and buried itself into Iris' body

"Hey, take it easy. You are scaring the little guy" Iris frowned

"Aww" Aang grinned "Don't listen to Sokka, lemur. You are going to be my new pet", extending his arms for the lemur

Iris looked at Sokka, who still looked at lemur in hunger

"Sokka, you are not eating this lemur"

His daze broke and he looked at her with big round eyes

"But why?!"

"Because..." she looked at the lemur in her arms, "Something tells me he's the last of his kind"

Sokka stopped "Oh"

"Hey, little guy" Iris softly spoke, "You wouldn't know where we can something to eat, would you?"

the lemur looked at her, tilted his head, chirped and then pointed at a direction

"Wow. I didn't expect him to understand me" Iris muttered then looked at the boys "Why don't you guys go with him and find something to eat?"

"Sounds good" Aang nodded

Iris let go as the lemur flew off, the boys following its trail

"You okay Iris?" Katara asked

"Yeah" she replied as Neva flew in and perched on her shoulder "There's just something I want to look at"

She turned and found the stairs that lead upstairs. Now that she paid attention, the weird chills she got, it felt like the energy of this place was calling to her. Like there was something it wanted to tell her. And she wasn't surprised. Growing up in a magical castle for 7 years prepares you for all kinds of supernatural shit.

She reached the topmost spiral and made her way. She didn't know where she was going or why, but it felt right. And iris knew, listening to her gut most times yielded the best results. At the end of the floor, there stood a single statue. He was a man with shaggy hair, less than perfect clothes, and something in the middle of his palms. Behind the man was a weird flat ghost-like thing with engravings and tentacles.

"Are you feeling it, Neva?" Iris whispered

Neva chirped and nodded. The energy was coming from this statue. She hesitantly reached and touched the face of the statue and there was a bright flash. A loud screech, followed by more loud sounds. Her instincts were to cover her ears. She closed her eyes as the notice and burst of energy overwhelmed her. And just as it started, it stopped. Iris slowly opened her eyes and gathered her bearings. She sat straighter, to find herself on the floor, along the wall

"Neva" she whispered and looked around, finding her familiar close to her, tired and half awake. Whatever it was, it had taken a big toll on both of them. She spared one last look at the statue, scooping in her arms, and stood up. And then the statue's eyes started glowing, startling her. Iris looked along the spirals to see all the statues were glowing

"Fuck. Aang" she muttered and quickly apparated to the ground. She slightly stumbled, almost fell, but managed to find her footing. She felt support next to her and looked down to see Katara

"What happened to you?" she asked in worry

"Doesn't matter" she replied "We have to find Aang"

What the hell was happening to her?

She did a quick point-me spell and the two girls ran to find Aang

* * *

They found Sokka and lemur near a stone clearing, crouched behind a destroyed wall. Iris and Katara crouched, approaching the two. The wind was impossibly fast and pieces of debris and bricks were flying around. Iris managed to conjure a shield to protect the five of them from the maelstrom.

"What happened?" Katara asked

Sokka looked at them in worry "He found out firebenders killed Gyatso"

Iris peeked over and found Aang floating inside an energy bubble, covered by a whirlpool of strongest winds she had seen

"I guess we finally get to meet his avatar spirit" Iris slightly winced "We have to calm him down before he destroys this place and us with it"

Sokka gulped. Katar's eyes hardened and she stood up

"I'll calm him"

"I'll cover you" Iris nodded. Katara walked across them and headed for the young Avatar. Iris projected another shield in front of Katara, but some strong wind still managed to go through. She cursed her weakened state.

"Katara better do it quickly or he'll blow us off the mountain" Sokka squealed

"Honestly, that's least of our worries, Sokka" Iris grit her teeth, holding two different shields

Katara slowly approached Aang, barely struggling against the wind, as Aang and his energy sphere slowly rose into the air.

"Aang, I know you're upset..." Katara called "... and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Iris, Sokka, and I, we're your family now."

The air currents weakened slowly and Aang slowly descended. Iris dropped the shields and sighed of tiredness.

"It worked," she said and walked inside, Sokka following her

While the wind dies, his eyes and tattoos were still glowing. So Iris decided to take a leap of faith. She handed Neva to Sokka and, wrapped Aang in a comforting hug

"No matter what, I promise you Aang, you will never have to lose me" she looked at Katara and Sokka and a small smile came on her lips "You'll never have to lose us. We are here for you, whenever you need us"

Iris looked down to see his tattoos and eyes were no longer glowing. Instead, his eyes were closed and he was burying himself into her, hugging her back with as much force. She felt his knees weaken and before he could fall, she kneeled and took him with her, still wrapped in a hug. Katara hugged his other side and Sokka hugged all of them

"She's right, Aang. We are your family now and we'll never leave you" Katara said

"What they said" Sokka chuckled. He was the first one to pull, followed by Katara. Iris didn't pull immediately. She could feel small wetness through her jumper, but she remained quiet. After a few seconds, Aang pulled and looked at her. His eyes were glassy, but he was no longer crying. Iris smiled at him softly

"I'm sorry," he said tiredly

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." Katara replied

"Never be sorry for how you feel," Iris told him "You may be the Avatar, but you are also a 12-year-old kid. You are allowed to feel anger, pain, sadness, and guilt. it's normal."

He nodded then looked at Katara

"But you were right. And if firebenders found this temple that means they found the other ones, too. I really am the last Airbender."

Iris smiled and wrapped one arm around his shoulder

"I guess then I can proudly say, welcome to the Last Ones club. The Last Energybender and the Last Airbender. We'll make an invincible duo" Iris grinned

Aang chuckled

"And with a waterbender and a skilled warrior of the South, we'll make an invincible team" she added

"She's right" Katara nodded

"Fire Nation won't know what hit 'em" Sokka proudly said, punching the air

Aang smiled and looked at the three around him. Guess all was not lost, after all

* * *

Lemur led Sokka towards the fruit trees. Katara and Iris were packing their stuff

"All done" Iris huffed. She was feeling much better now. So was Neva. She had gone with the lemur and Sokka to collect fruits

"I'll get Aang," Katara said

"Kat, let me. There's something I need to talk to him" Iris said

"about what?"

"I'll tell you later" Iris jumped off Appa and went back to the Statue room. Aang was standing in front of Avatar Roku's statue

"We are all packed, kid" she softly said, standing next to him

"How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?" Aang asked

"Everything will reveal itself in time" Iris smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder

"How do you know that?" he asked

"I just do" Iris chuckled "So, off-topic, but this place wouldn't happen to have any library, would it?" she asked

"there was one. I'm not sure if it's still intact. Why?"

"You said you learned about energybenders in history lessons. If there is something...a book or a scroll or something, it'd be highly helpful to me"

Aang perked up when he realized what she was saying.

"This way" he started jogging. Iris managed to keep up with him. He led her inside the temple and to a lower floor. There were huge wooden doors but they didn't have any lock on them. Together the two managed to push them open and entered. Like most parts of the place, this place was destroyed and ravaged.

"Guess we are late" Iris deadpanned

"I don't think so. The monks kept important scrolls at a different place." he turned right and jogged into another hallway. She followed him. It was like a maze. No wonder the firebenders never came here. He finally approached a door that had a similar Airbender lock. He opened it for her and the two entered.

It was a heaven for nerds. She was pretty sure if Hermione saw that, she'd faint. The collection was amazing.

"the Energybending scrolls are there" Aang pointed at a certain shelf. Iris walked to them and looked around. But why would airbenders have scrolls about Energybending?

"Would it be okay if I took a few of them? I'd like to know more about my past"

"I don't see the problem" Aang shrugged "As the last energybender I think you deserve to have them"

Iris smiled a thank you and looked over the collection. She picked whatever books, tombs, or scrolls she could and placed them all in a bottomless pouch. It was enough reading material to last at least 2 years.

"Let's go" she smiled at Aang

Aang closed the door to the library and the two made their way back to the front where others were waiting for them

"What took you two so long?" Sokka asked

"Aang showed me this amazing library. I picked a little reading material on energybenders" she replied as the two got up on Appa

Iris looked at Neva, who was playing with the lemur as she sat down

"Looks like you made a new friend, Neva" Iris smiled

Neva chirped and flapped her wings and flew to her perch on her shoulder

"Hey, little guy." Aang greeted the lemur, picking him up. the lemur made its perch on Aang's shoulder like Neva.

Appa took off. the four of them looked at the temple, as they kept on flying away

"You, me, and Appa." Aang sighed "We're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together. Iris, Neva, Katara, Sokka..." Aang started "...say hello to the newest member of our family."

Aang approached them, the lemur on his shoulder

"What are you going to name him?" Katara asked

"Momo." Aang smiled

"So, fruits" Iris started "This whole adventure has made me hungry"

Momo, again understanding her, hopped off his perch, snatched the fruit Sokka was going to bite into and offered it to Iris. Sokka bit into nothing, only it took a few seconds to realize that. Iris and others laughed as she took the fruit from the lemur while Sokka grumbled.


	4. The Warriors of Kyoshi

Zuko was meditating. His face was calm and concentrated. Suddenly his door opened and Iroh entered

"The only reason you should be interrupting me is if you have news about the Avatar," Zuko said in a dangerously silky voice

Iroh casually entered, carrying a map "Well, there is news, Prince Zuko, but you might not like it. Don't get too upset."

"Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Now whatever you have to say, I'm sure that I can take it." Zuko replied calmly

"Okay, then..." Iroh paused for a second then went on "we have no idea where he is."

"WHAT?!" Zuko demanded, enraged

The four candles that were around him, flared to the veiling with Zuko's rage. He stood quickly and turned around to face his uncle, his anger evident on his face. Iroh turned away from the flames and raised his right arm to protect his face. As the flames subsided, he pulled a fan out of his robes.

"You really should open a window in here," Irok said, fanning himself

"Give me the map!" Zuko demanded, snatching the map from his uncle

Zuko opened the rolled scroll and began to study it. Iroh continued to fan himself.

"There have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down," Iroh informed him

"How am I gonna find him, Uncle?" Zuko asked, looking down at the map marked with circled Xs and dotted lines connecting the reported Avatar sightings. The lines zigza0edg all over the landmass drawings.

"He is clearly a master of evasive maneuvering." Zuko grunted then looked at his Uncle "What about the white-haired girl?"

"Nothing, Prince Zuko. She has been sighted along with the Avatar, but no one knows who she is"

"That doesn't make sense, Uncle. the other two with him are definitely water-tribe." he said "And we know nothing on this girl, other than that she has unnatural white hair"

"And may I ask why the fascination with her?" Irok asked

Zuko narrowed his eyes "You saw her. She's not a waterbender, but she was able to resist our attacks. And she caused the glacier to explode. She could be a threat"

"Actually, I may have an idea about her"

"And what is she?"

"Have you ever heard of energybenders, Prince Zuko?"

* * *

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?"

Iris raised her eyes from the book, looked at Sokka then, frowning slightly, then she looked at Aang

"Weeelll," Aang turned over to look at them "I know it's near water..."

Iris looked below them and all she could see was a vast sea or ocean

"Yeah, that's given, kid" she deadpanned

"I guess we're getting close then," Sokka added, dryly

Iris sighed and went back to the book. It was basically a history of energybenders and what energybending was. And it was not only very detailed but quite informative.

 **"** Hey, Katara! Check out this airbending trick!"

"That's great, Aang."

"You didn't even look."

"That's great!"

"But I'm not doing it now."

Sigh

"Iris, check this out!"

She hummed and looked at Aang, half interested. Aang was spinning two marbles in the air in the middle of his palms

"Fascinating" she gave him a soft smile and then went back into the book

"But you don't sound interested" Aang sighed, sounding defeated.

Iris sighed to herself. She kind of forgot that he was just a kid and kids love attention. But before she could say something to restore his smile, Sokka had to open his mouth

"Stop bugging them, airhead. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing or reading."

Iris stopped reading and looked at Sokka, the same time Katara paused sewing and looked at Sokka

"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?" Katara asked

Sokka shrugged "Simple: girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things."

"Well, I seem to remember this one we sparred. But it gets a little hazy. Who was lying on the ground by the time we were done? Pray tell Sokka" she frowned, almost daring him to speak

Sokka gulped. He remembered the sparring. And each time, he'd have his ass handed to him by Iris. But mostly he blamed her being older than him

"O-Of course, Iris, you are an exception" he nervously chuckled, which was totally wrong to say in presence of another girl. Katara, now madder than before, glowered at Sokka and threw his pants at him. They hit him in the head.

"All done with your pants! And look what a great job I did!" she snapped with fake exaggerated happiness

"Wait!" Sokka sat straighter "I was just kidding! I can't wear these!" he stuck his arm through the big hole in the seat of his pants. "Katara, PLEASE!"

Katara huffed, crossed her arms and looked away.

Knowing Katara, Sokka slowly turned to Iris, who was back into her book

"Iris," he began smoothly "I w-"

"Don't even think about it" she said, finality in her voice

Sokka groaned in defeat

"Don't worry, Sokka." Aang looked over his shoulder "Where we're going, you won't need any pants!"

He gave a pull on the reigns and Appa and swooped down in the sky, glowering. He landed on the beach and the four got off.

"We just made a pit stop yesterday. Shouldn't we get a little more flying done before we camp out?" Sokka asked

"He's right. At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring." Katara added

Aang shaded his face and looked out over the water "But Appa's tired already, aren't you boy? I said, aren't you boy?"

Aang nudged Appa conspiratorially with his elbow. Appa yawned on cue but was obviously not tired. Aang stuck his thumb in the big bison's direction with a mischievous smile

"Yeah, that was real convincing." Sokka deadpanned then shrugged "Still, hard to argue with a ten-ton magical monster." he and Katara left to unpack a little

"Aang," Iris started, a seriousness in her voice that made him stop on his tracks. He turned and looked at her, slightly gulping. Iris looked at him intently, arms folded. she noticed a single drop of sweat trickle down his cheek

"Y-Yeah?"

"Why are we really here?" she asked

Aang fiddled with his fingers, bouncing on his toes. He looked everywhere but at her

"I wanted to ride the elephant koi" he meekly replied, head lowering

"And why did you lie to us about it?"

His head lowered further "Because..."

Iris smiled and walked to him, kneeling.

"I've never said no when you wanted to go ride hopping llamas or those other animals. And I've wouldn't have said no this time either. I'm pretty sure about Katara and Sokka too. You didn't have to lie to us"

He nodded "So..." he nervously said "If I wanted to ride Flying fishopotamus tomorrow, you'd let me"

Iris chuckled. Kid knew his tricks

"Sure. If you want to reach the North Pole three weeks late, I don't mind these detours"

Aang looked at her in surprise "Three weeks?" he repeated

She nodded "I'm afraid, kid, time ain't a luxury we can afford"

He nodded and then his eyes widened at something behind Iris

"LOOK!" He gasped excitedly, pointing at the sea, where a giant koi fish had leaped out of water "That's why we're here..." he quickly stripped down to his underwear in a blink of an eye "...elephant koi. And I'm going to ride it. Iris, Katara, you've gotta watch me!" and he dived into the water "

A second later he leaped out again with a shocked expression on his face, "COLD!" he yelped

Iris laughed "I could have told you that, kid, without having in the water"

She shook her head fondly and looked at the siblings who were looking at Aang wryly. Sokka makes the universal "he's crazy" signal by twirling his finger next to his head.

While the siblings went out to look for Aang and his daredevil tricks, Iris went back to Appa. She climbed on top of his saddle and pulled her duffel bag and started rummaging. The weather was starting to get hotter and hotter, by the hour and if she had to spend another hour in that black jumper of hers, she'd shred it. But at the same time, she didn't want to shred it. It was her favorite jumper and that only woolen thing she packed for the trip.

Rule One of being on Road: Pack lightly.

Looking through her duffel, she frowned. Sure she wasn't the one to organize everything in eat stacks, neither did she had the time for that, but she was pretty sure she had packed it. But where the fuck was that?

"Please don't tell me I forgot it in the South Pole" she muttered. She refused to spend the rest of their journey in a woolen jumper. Nope. Nada.

She tucked strands of white hair behind her ear in frustration before she finally found it. The ruby-red t-shirt. It was originally her quidditch t-shirt but the Gryffindor insignia had faded over time. Now it was a solid ruby-red t-shirt with a faded Gryffindor lion insignia. But it was one of her favorites.

Content, she settled on top of Appa and was about to remove her jumper when she heard Sokka yell

"There's something in the water!"

Iris turned around so quick, she was pretty sure she'd have given herself whiplash. She jumped down Appa and rushed to Sokka just as Katara approached them

Mom was jumping up and down, probably distressed as well

"What's wrong?" Katara asked

"Aang's in trouble," Sokka replied and then called out to Aang.

"Get out of there!" Katara screamed, but of course, Aang was hearing none of it

Iris did a quick _Sonorous_ and cupped her hands around her mouth

"Aang, there's something in the water! Come back this instant!" she said

Aang stopped the moment he heard it. He turned around and quickly spotted a huge shadow. His eyes widened and he screamed in panic.

Aang leaped to the surface of the water and began to run towards shore. The enormous fin appeared and began to chase him. Aang managed to reach the shore, running headfirst and full force into Sokka. He knocked Sokka off his feet and they both crashed back towards the tree line. The girls exchanged a look and then ran back to where Aang and Sokka were. Aang quickly slid into his clothes while Sokka sat lumped up against the tree they skidded into.

"What was that thing?" Katra asked

"I don't know," Aang replied

Sokka got up, wiping both his hands together "Well, let's not stick around and find out. Time to hit the road."

Just then something rustled and Iris felt someone land on her. She quickly tried to reach for her dagger, ut the person caught her arm and twisted it. She would have easily got rid of the attacker but when she saw hoods being put over Katara and Sokka, she stopped fighting. The last thing she saw was a hood put over Aang before everything around her turned dark. Her hands were tied and she was pushed to the ground

the only indication that there were safe were,

 **"** Ugh!" it was Aang

"Uhh..." Katara

"Oof... Or we could stay a while..." Definitely Sokka

* * *

At times Iris appreciated the fact that she became a wat-vet at 18.

Since she knew she couldn't put up a fight, she decided to profile their captors. They weren't heavy, she could tell. So they were either a group of lean men or a group of women. They were trained in combat. They knew how to handle captives. She'd give them a point for the hoods.

The next thing she felt was being pulled upright and then pushed along something hard and circular. a Pole. She felt two people on her either side, so at least they were keeping them together. She felt a rope tied across her midsection a couple of times before it was tightened and knotted

"You three have some explaining to do." The man sounded older, maybe the head of the village or town they were near or at

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the unagi." The girl, while having quite a commanding voice, sounded about her age, maybe even younger

"Show yourselves, cowards!" Sokka demanded.

Suddenly the hood was removed. iris had to blink a couple of times to let the pupils adjust

"Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?" Sokka demanded

The girl, she presumed to be the leader, stepped forward "There were no men. We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"

Before Sokka could open his mouth to insult their captors further and get them in further trouble, Iris spoke up

"For Merlin's sake, shut up, Sokka!" she snapped

Thankfully Sokka listened

She turned to face the Village leader and the warrior girls

"We are travelers. We were here because Aang" he jerked her chin at the kid on her right "wanted to ride the elephant koi. Nothing else. If you'd let us, we'd be out of here in a few minutes. We don't want any trouble"

They listened to her and then they turned to Aang accusingly "How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies? Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far. And we intend to keep it that way!"

"This island is named for Kyoshi?" Aang suddenly beamed "I know Kyoshi!"

What the heck? Iris shot him a weird look

"Ha! How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."

Right. Kyoshi was an Avatar. She'd really appreciate it if people clarified stuff like that before they started conversing.

"I know her because I'm the Avatar."

If her hands were free, iris would have smacked her forehead. Maybe she should have taught these about subtlety and anonymity

"That's impossible! The last Avatar was an Airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago." The leader girl replied

"That's me!" Aang replied

"Throw the imposter to the unagi!" the village leader ordered

"Wait" iris quickly replied "We can prove it. Aang is the Avatar!"

She waited but nothing happened. She looked at Aang incredulously

"Aang... do some airbending..." Katara said tersely

Aang, realizing what Iris said was a cue that he totally missed, airbended, broke his bonds, and shot himself into the air.

Iris sighed in relief when Aang got all their attention

"It's true... you are the Avatar!" the village leader gasped

He jumped off in front of them and to her horror, pulled the marble out from under his shirt

"Now... check this out!"

Grinning like a fool, he did the same trick he had tried to impress Iris and Katara with

The villagers cheered and jumped for joy. A villager towards the front right screamed like a girl and got so excited that he began to foam at the mouth, fainted and fell forward

Iris eyed that with a little disgust and quietly pulled her dagger and cut through the bonds. She cut through the hand-ties and then soo did the same with Katara and Sokka. Once done, she placed he dagger into her jean's waistband and covered it with her jumper. Only then Neva landed on her shoulder, checking her over.

Iris chuckled and reassured her familiar. She went to pet her only to notice her wrists

"Well, that's gonna bruise" she muttered, rubbing her wrists where red indentations were beginning to form

* * *

To her irritation, the whole village started treating them like fucking celebrities. Oyagi, the village leader, gave them one of the best houses for their stay. Appa was given a royal cleanup and makeover.

Right now, they were seated in front of a long wooden table. The table was covered with eighteen different plates of food. A villager entered and placed another plate on the table and left. Aang threw his arms up in the air happily.

"All right! Dessert for breakfast!" Aang grinned "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar!"

Iris eyed the food with discomfort. She had never had a big appetite, even for a growing girl. Thank You, Dursleys. And this huge amount of food in front of her was just making her nauseous.

She just stood up

"Iris, are you okay?" Katara asked

"Yeah" she nodded

"You haven't even touched any food"

"I'm not hungry" she replied and walked to the bedroom. She slid the door close behind her and sighed, leaning against the door. She tiredly looked at her duffel and walked to it. She unzipped it, pulled her red shirt. She pulled her jumper and slid into the t-shirt. She stood up and walked outside the house.

Neva flew in and perched on her shoulder, preening herself

"How is the village?" she asked

Neva thrilled softly and bobbed her head. An indication that Kyoshi Village was safe and good looking

Iris walked through the paths of the village, familiarising herself. No matter what kind of treatment the villagers were giving her, the sooner they left, the better. Merlin forbids, if Zuko or Firenation found out about their whereabouts, a lot of people would get in trouble.

When she realized something. She turned to Neva

"You wouldn't know where those girls train themselves, would you?"

Neva bobbed her head and took off. Iris just smiled and followed her familiar.

Neva led her to a house at the end of a dirt path. It was quite a good location to train. Fewer distractions.

She walked to the entrance and stopped at the doorway seeing them train. She waited. Once they finished, she knocked softly to grab their attention

"Hi" the leader smiled "Can I help you?"

"I hope so." Iris smiled "I was hoping you could teach me a few moves"

The girl folded her arms "We usually don't teach foreigners. Why should we teach you?"

"Because I'm responsible for three kids. It wouldn't hurt to learn self-defense"

"then prove yourself"

Even before Iris could register anything, the girl lunged at her, fans flaring. Iris managed to duck and dodge as she looked at the girl in bewilderment

"A heads up!" she called but the girl attacked her again with a punch. But this time, Iris grabbed her hand, gave her an unexpected pull, kicked on her shin and in another fluid movement, grabbed her dagger and placed it on the girl's throat

It happened so fast, Iris didn't even register it entirely. She was acting entirely on muscle memory and instincts.

"That was good," the girl said "Now you can remove the dagger"

Iris blinked twice, to realize the dagger was still on the girl's throat

"sorry about that" Iris muttered, helping the girl up.

"That was neat. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Eh" Iris shrugged "Here and there"

"I'm Suki. Leader of Kyoshi Warriors" Suki extended her hand

"Iris" Iris smiled, shaking her hand

"So if want to learn to fight like a Kyoshi Warrior, you have to follow all our traditions" Suki folded her arms but supported a mischievous smile

Iris spared her a few seconds then sighed "You want me to play dress up, don't you? the whole garb?"

Suki only smiled

* * *

Suki had no idea how much time had passed since she started teaching Iris. But something was different about this girl. the green dress, brought out her eyes brighter, as if they less captivating before. The white and red makeup also brightened her green eyes. Also with the white makeup, Suki couldn't tell where her hairline started. Another mystery was the girl's looks. Green eyes, so much brighter than she had ever seen. They meant Earth Kingdome. But her skin was really pale for someone from the Earth Kingdom. And her beautiful snow-white hair.

Another thing was her moves. Kyoshi warriors mainly focused on defense rather than offense. But iris somehow evolved the moves she was teaching into fatal ones. Rather than blocking, she went for the opponent's throat, chest, gut, shin even backside of the elbows. She knew her human-anatomy very well. Iris was mastering moves which would take days in within hours

All in all, Iris confused Suki.

Suki was teaching posture when they were all disturbed by a clearing of a throat,

They stopped and looked at the doorway. it was the oldest boy traveling with the Avatar

"Sorry ladies! Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson." he arrogantly said, stretching his arms and waist "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout?" He bent over and grabbed his knees with his hands.

Iris facepalmed, making Suki chuckle

"I'm extremely sorry" she guiltily said "on his behalf"

"It's alright. Would you mind..."

"Please. He needs a lesson"

Suki smiled and turned to the boy

"Well, you're in the right place." Suki smiled

He continued to stretch himself

"Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know that you were friends with the Avatar." Suki apologized sounding quite sincere

"It's all right. I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception." he flippantly said, rotating his shoulder

"I should hope so. A big strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance." Suki replied. iris was pretty sure she could collect that sarcasm in a bowl

"True. But don't feel bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my village." Sokka said, still flexing

"Wow! Best warrior, huh? In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration." Suki said in the fakest happiness

"Oh... well... I mean... I..."

"Come on, girls! Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?"

The girls giggled and nodded in affirmative

 **"** Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to. All right, you stand over there." He grasped her shoulder and pushed her back a little, but she didn't move. He didn't seem to notice or care. "This may be a little tough, but try to block me."

Sokka threw a punch. Suki blocked it with a deft thrust of her fan to his shoulder. Her stance screamed disinterested and confident against his arrogance.

"Heh heh... good." he said, rubbing his shoulder "Of course, I was going easy on you."

"Of course," Suki replied

"Let's see if you can handle this!"

He lunged at Suki. She caught him under his leg and tossed backward toward the door. He landed on his butt.

"That does it!" he snapped and lunged back at her. She grabbed him by the arm, spun him around in circles, tied his arm to his foot with his own belt, and threw him to the floor.

"Anything else you want to teach us?" she asked, laughing

"I think that's enough" Iris stepped forward. Sure Sokka needed a lesson to respect women, but this was slightly overstepping the line.

"Iris?" he asked

she bent down, untied him, and helped him up. she turned to face Suki

"Mind if I take off for the day?"

Suki nodded. Iris smiled and with Sokka, walked out. She led to the back of the house

"Give me a minute to change back"

She went in, quickly changed back into her red shirt, black jeans, and boots. She removed her makeup and walked out to find Sokka leaning on the doorway looked flushed and heartbroken

"Come on" she nudged him

"where?" he asked

"You trust me, don't you? Come on. Take a walk with me"

Sokka sighed and walked with her. Iris led him to a less used dirt path. Neva returned to her perch, preening herself.

"what's on your mind, warrior?" she asked

Sokka sighed, humiliated "They kicked my butt"

Iris nodded and hummed

"Twice"

Nod and hum

"And made fun of me"

Nod and hum

"And it was all my fault"

Iris looked at him "At least you recognized your mistake. Now, how about you correct it?"

"How do I do that?" he asked, stopping to look at her

"apologies are a good place to start"

Sokka looked at her, nodded. He turned and went back, retracing their steps

Iris turned and returned to the village. She walked through the market when she spotted some moon peaches. Now she regretted missing breakfast. She picked a few fruits, paid for that, and started walking down the path. She gave a small fruit to Neva, who held it in her claw while nibbling on it. Iris smiled when she saw how untouched by war this place was. Kids playing freely. People shopping and engaging in regular business. It was refreshing

she finally spotted Kata refiling her basket and approached her

"Hey"

Katara looked at her and smiled "Hi. How was your training with the Kyoshi Warriors?"

Iris raised a brow "How did you know where I was?"

Katara reached for her tip-toes and wiped her fingers against her forehead, which now had a bit of white makeup

"huh" iris muttered wiping her forehead again, receiving small smudges of white makeup

"What were you and Aang up to?" Iris asked

"Nothing much" Katara shrugged "Refilling and restocking. Aang," she sighed "Is a whole different story"

"What happened?" Iris asked,

"His fans are keeping him busy" she replied

"And he's showing off"

"Too much. I'm afraid this whole Avatar fame will get in his head"

"that makes two of us" Iris replied, looking around. She finally spotted Aang with a bunch of girls

She snorted and started helping Katara with vegetables.

"What did you learn from the Warriors?"

Iris was going to reply, only to be interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. They both turned back to see Aang and at some distance his fangirls

"Oh, good! Can you help me carry this back to the room? It's a little heavy." Katara said

"I can't right now," Aang replied

"What do you mean you can't?" Katara asked, irritated. iris kept her hand on katara's back, who visibly calmed a little

"I promised the girls that I'd give them a ride on Appa. Why don't you both come with us? It'll be fun! We can introduce them to Neva!"

"We'd love to Aang" Iris quickly replied "But Katara and I have job to do. And Neva doesn't do well with unknown crowds. You have fun" she smiled and picked the heavier basket, tucking it under her arm "Come on, Kat"

Katara turned and left with her.

"Why didn't you say anything to him?" Katara asked

"Trust me, he wouldn't have listened. He would have thought that we were being jealous of the attention. Sometimes, best lessons are learned the hard way"

Katara slightly nodded. But Iris was worried. She knew Fame and popularity came with its own demons. She had experienced them first hand. But like she said, Aang was young and naive. He wouldn't have listened to them.

they went back to the house and started packing the food items

"So, are we cooking tonight or getting a buffet from the village?" She asked

"I don't know" Katara replied, "Hey, Iris, are you okay?"

To be honest, Katara had been noticing the signs for a while now. Less sleeping, skipping meals and being irritated for no reason. While Iris was too good at hiding all of them, she was noticing them. She was spacing out a lot lately, getting lost in her thoughts. And it worried her. Moreso because Iris had an excellent ability to hide things and bottle them up

"I'm fine, Katara"

Katara frowned and walked to in front of her

"Why are you lying?" she demanded then lowered her voice "I just want to help you"

Iris was at first a little surprised that Katara had noticed things. But then she just smiled softly and kneeled to the girl's height

"You are helping me by being there for me."

"I can help better"

"Maybe you can. But whatever's going with me, that's beyond you. Honestly, even I'm not getting what's going on with me. But if there was something, I'll talk to you"

Katara nodded

"How about you show me your waterbending? Let's see how much has it improved"

Katara nodded and got up, rushed to the kitchen and returned with a bowl of water

She settled the bowl in between them.

She moved her hands and a plume of water rose and fell from a small bowl in front of her.

"Okay. Try to make a rod of ice" Iris suggested

Katara nodded and moving both her hands, tried to make a rod of water. Once she achieved that, she started freezing it, but suddenly the door opened, her concentration broke and all the water dropped back in the bowl, some even spilling on the floor

"Iris, Katara, remember how the unagi almost got me yesterday?"

Iris raised a brow but Katara just shrugged. Where was he going with it

"Yeah," Katara replied, without looking at him

"Well, I'm gonna go ride it now. It's gonna be REAL dangerous."

Iris' eyes widened before narrowing

"Come again" her voice was now tense. Katara noticed the sign.

It wasn't easy to anger Iris. It took a lot to get her mad. But the Avatar was making a record with angering her with just one sentence

Unknown of the danger he just placed himself in, he repeated the bragging

Katara wanted to warn Aang, but he probably deserved it.

She slowly turned to face him, looking utterly angry. Katara gulped

"WHAT THE HELL YOU MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO RIDE THE UNAGI?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKIN' MIND?!"

Katara winced while Aang looked like he had no idea what hit him. After the 10 minute session of yelling and scolding, it was safe to say that Aang developed a very healthy fear of the energybender.

At the end he just gulped, looking embarrassed and guilty "I'll...tell the girls I won't be riding the unagi" and he literally dashed out

Katara looked at Iris, who suddenly stood up

"I'll be back in a while. Keep an eye on Aang" and she left too

Katara blinked before she got up and went to look for Aang

Iris had no idea what possessed her to yell at Aang. But the idea of him riding a dangerous beast for the entertainment of a few 'fangirls' scared her. She had no idea where she was going, but she eventually came across a small stream. She sat down on its bank and pulled her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them closer. tears pricked her eyes

Suddenly he was no longer the Iris Potter, the Girl-who-lived or the Woman-who-conquered. She felt like she was back to being 11, stuck under a small cupboard under those damned stairs. A little girl whose biggest fear was getting beaten by her drunkard whale of an uncle.

And just like that, the dam broke and it all came out rushing. She hadn't cried a single tear when the war ended. She hadn't cried when she attended Fred's funeral. She hadn't cried when she held onto Teddy and buried his parents. She had just bottled all of it. And now it all burst out.

She heard Neva trilling soothingly, trying to perch on her arms. Neva tried to poke her cheeks in a comforting way

She was scared for Aang. For Katara and Sokka. They had no idea what these kinds of journeys had planned. And it scared her that by the end of it, none of them would be children anymore.

Neva kept on singing in a soothing voice, trying to calm her. Iris shook her head and hugged Neva, as she cried. years worth tears flowed at once.

Iris cried till she felt her tear ducts had gone dry. She pulled and wiped her cheeks. Neva reached and rubbed her small blue head against her cheek, cuddling to her

"Thanks, baby girl" Iris softly smiled and sniffed and ran her hand over her face. Neva chirped in response.

"I should apologize to Aang" she muttered "and Katara"

She got up, Neva snuggling to her in her arms. As the two made their way back when they saw Oyagi in a rush

"Is everything alright?" she asked

"Firebenders have landed on our shores!" he informed her and rushed to the dojo. A chill ran down her spine. It was something she was dreading. She saw as the warriors came out, following Oyagi

"Find Katara and Aang." She told Neva who flew off

"Sokka!" she called

Sokka, who was dressed as a Kyoshi warrior, looked and ran to her

"We should go," she told him. Sokka nodded back

"Iris"

Iris stopped and looked at Suki

"We are extremely sorry about this, Suki. Give us a few minutes and we'd be out of your hair"

She again turned to leave, but Suki called her again

"No wait" Suki then pulled two metal fans, extras-Iris noticed and extended them to her "You are amazing with fans"

Iris took the fans "Thanks. let's go"

The group rushed to the shore where Zuko's army was approaching from.

Suki headed directly for Zuko. As she was about to land on him, he turned his rhinoceros, and she was swatted out of the air by its tail. As she hit the ground, Zuko aimed a fire blast at her, only for Sokka to step in between Suki and the fireball, reflecting it back to Zuko. Zuko, taken by surprise, fell off his rhinoceros.

 **"** I guess training's over." Sokka frowned

"Yeah, what gave the clue?" Iris asked, deflecting a few more fireballs with the fans. Once they stopped coming,

"Ventus" she muttered under her breath and used the fans to a boost to the already strong winds. Unexpected this, Zuko and his small army were thrown away. She looked over her shoulder at Suki and Sokka

"Find the other two. Suki, please help him. I'll hold them off"

the two nodded and ran off. Focusing back on the firebender, she used a stupefy on all of them and then made her way to Zuko

"You'll pay for this" he growled

"Feel free" she replied "and for the record, leave us alone!"

With that, she stepped over him and jogged back to the house they were staying in. She entered and closed the door behind her

"Iris!"

And Katra hugged her tight

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine" she eyed a guilty-looking Aang "Hey," she kneeled "Aang, you okay, kid?"

"Look what I brought to this place."

"Kid, it's not your fault," Iris said

"Yes, it is. These people got their town destroyed trying to protect me." Aang replied

"Then let's get out of here. Zuko will leave Kyoshi to follow us. I know it feels wrong to run, but I think it's the only way."

"It's not wrong to run. it's called tactical retreat" Iris added

Aang nodded

"Good. Call Appa and on him." and then she realized the absence of another "Where's Sokka?"

"We don't know"

Merlin! It was proving harder to handle three teenagers than she expected.

"Get on Appa."

She looked at Neva "You too"

She rushed inside where all their luggage was kept. She quickly shrunk them all, placed them in her denim pockets and ran out only to find a huge flame in front of the house

"Merlin" she muttered and looked around. Finding a window, she jumped out and made her way to Appa

She hopped on top of him just as Sokka made his way up Appa's tail

"Appa, yip yip!"

Appa grunted and flew out of the town. Iris, Katara, and Sokka were sitting in the saddle on Appa's back. Aang was sitting behind Appa's head with the reins in his hands, his head hanging down

Katara reached to him "I know it's hard, but you did the right thing. Zuko would have destroyed the whole place if we had stayed. They're going to be okay, Aang.

Iris tiredly eyed him and was about to give her reassurances when out of the blue, Aang dove off of Appa's head into the bay, a determined expression on his face.

"Aang!" Iris called

"What are you doing?!" Katara demanded

And tho the trio's horror and Neva and Momo's too, several seconds later the unagi burst out of the water, Aang riding on its head. He was holding both whiskers and forced the unagi's head towards the burning town of Kyoshi. Aang pulled back on the whiskers and the unagi spewed water over the town. The stream continued long enough to put out the fires Zuko and his army had begun.

Once he realized the Kyoshi was out of danger, he let go of the unagi's whiskers. The unagi reared its head and Aang jumped into the air just as Appa swooped down and caught him in his front paws and flew off.

Iris bent down, best to her abilities, caught Aang's extended hand, and pulled him above. Perks of being the tallest in the group.

Once Aang was safe, he looked everywhere but her, clearly expecting a lecture

"I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous," he muttered

Iris just wrapped her arms around him

"Yes, it was." she replied "But I'm glad you did that"

"You are?" Aang's eyes widened

"Yes. And I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you"

"You were right. I was letting all the attention get the better of me"

"Then that's a well-learned lesson"

Aang looked at Katara "I'm sorry about earlier"

"Me too" Iris added

"It's okay" Katara smiled at them both

They all heard a soft groan and looked at Sokka, who was looking at Kyoshi in a little sadness and desperation

"What's with him?" Aang asked

The two girls just shrugged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support I've received so far. You guys are amazing. Keep on supporting me like that. Thank you so much


	5. The King of Omashu (and Crazy)

It was mayhem. Utter chaos. Iris looked the once Great Hall, who was hustling with injured and survivors. The bodies of martyrs were laid down on the floor. She walked across them, her legs carrying her better than her consciousness.

she tried not to push or hurt anyone but just kept on walking when her eyes landed on something and she stopped dead in her way. The Weasleys were on the floor, crying. she took a few steps, not knowing what to expect. And then she saw him.

George had never looked more broken. Ron and Percy were trying to comfort him while also mourning themselves. Charlie was with their parents. Bill was comforted by Fleur. Ginny, who looked stone cold and didn't show any emotions, looked almost dead.

Iris closed her eyes as she tried to keep the panic and anxiety inside. Her fists tightened, fingernails digging into her palms

"It was your fault"

She opened her eyes to see an undead Fred in front of her

"It was all your fault"

"No" she whispered, stepping back. Fred stepped forward, repeating the same thing like a mantra.

Suddenly she tripped on something and fell on the floor. Her eyes closed instinctively as she groaned in pain. When she opened them she felt paralyzed. Around her were Fred, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, James, Lily, Cedric, and Colin

"It was your fault, Iris. You are the reason we are dead!"

* * *

Iris woke up with a gasp. She looked around for a moment only to find herself on the ground, in her sleeping bag on a plateau. She sighed, pulling up her knees and resting her elbows on them, supporting her head. She ran her hands through her hair and calmed her breathing. They were short and labored. Her forehead was covered in sweat. In fact, her red tee was stuck to her lithe body because of the sweat.

Feeling a sting, she looked at her palms, which were now starting to bleed.

"Great" she muttered and looked around. The campfire was put out. Aang was sleeping on Appa's tail. Katara and Sokka were in their sleeping bags. Even Momo and Appa were asleep. So thankfully she hadn't woken up anyone. She did a quick time spell. It was 4 AM. Way too early. And going back to sleep wasn't an option, not after that nightmare.

She got up, rummaged through her duffel, picked a thick book, and started walking into the small patch of woods. And then she felt Neva perch on her shoulder

"What are you doing awake, Neva?" she asked

Neva just glared at her tiredly

Iris rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

She finally reached the spring. Under the spring was a small lake. She kept the book on the rocky bank. Neva flew off and settled near the book, getting comfortable.

Iris quickly removed her red tee. The cool wind hit her bra-clad torso sending goosebumps all over the body but Iris didn't pay mind to it. Iris removed her boots, dagger, and jeans, following that, and stepped into the cold lake. The water reached just above her chest. Taking a deep breath, she dipped into the water and rose, pushing back the wet hair away from her face. She repeated it a few more times.

she didn't understand the point of nightmares. She hadn't had them in about a year. She guessed that the dimensional travel had to do something with it. After she appeared at the village, they had become less frequent, until they spotted in a matter of days. But why would she get them now, out of nowhere.

Neva trilled. Iris rolled her eyes

"I remember" she muttered and walked to the bank, the water swooshing and rippling around her near-naked body. She cast a Lumos and a small ball of light appeared

Drying her hands, she opened the book, reading on. The more she read, the more questions she got.

How does one master energybending? How powerful can a master energybender be? (Aang had answered it for her, but his info was a little outdated) What happened to the Energybenders? How did they get extinct? Were the Avatars supposed to learn Energybending? Were Avatars born as Energybenders? Why was her magic so similar to energybending? What was the source of the power of energybenders? and so many more.

Neva trilled, startling her

"What?" she asked

Neva just pointed at the sky, which was turning a lovely hue of pinks and oranges. Iris sighed. She closed the book, went to the deeper parts of water, dipped down one more time, and then got out. She did a drying spell on her body, letting her white hair air dry, slipped into her clothes, placed the dagger in her boot, picked the book, and walked back to the campsite.

The others were still asleep when the duo reached there. She made her way to the edge of the plateau and sat down. She drew her one leg and rested her cheek on it. With a sigh, she looked at the horizon, where the sun had started to rise

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked

Neva trilled happily, next to her.

Iris felt a tug and soon had Momo perched on her shoulder, looking at the sunrise.

"Hey buddy" she smiled and reached to pet him only for him to fall down suddenly and Neva claimed her rightful perch. She squawked loudly at Momo once, which sounded oddly like a warning and got comfortable.

Iris rolled her eyes and opened her arms for Momo, who settled there.

The sunrise was beautiful. Neva was preening herself on her shoulder and Momo was curled up in her arms.

Aang was really looking for their destination of the day-Omashu. He was really excited but he wouldn't tell them why. So they let him be. And despite this pit stop, if everything went right and they remained on their path, they'd make it to the NorthPole in about two weeks. After Winter solstice, but before the end of the month. And if anything was to happen, a week after the deadline. But Iris also knew that would hardly happen.

Her mind wandered back to Energybenders. Criss-crossing her legs, she opened the book and read more.

She flipped the page and stopped. Okay, that was weird.

There was a cavity in those plain pages and inside that cavity was a notebook. It was small, not as well kept, looked highly used. What was the point of hiding a notebook inside another book? Unless it held important information.

Keeping the book next to her, she flipped through the notebook. Which turned out to be a journal. Holy Merlin! someone had recorded events of Energybender clan. With every detail. She had just hit the jackpot

"Iris?"

She yelped, startled and turned around to see others had woken up

"You scared me" she took a deep breath, a hand on her chest

"How long have you been awake?" Katara asked

"Some time" she shrugged

"Ready to go?" Sokka asked, packing his sleeping bag

"Yeah, let's go"

* * *

All their way there, Iris was highly invested in the journal. And Merlin, had she hit the jackpot. It was a fucking treasure.

"We are there!"

Iris looked up from the book and at Aang before looking at the scenery in front of her. The city did look amazing.

"Aang wait" Iris spoke up "Maybe we should hike rest of our way"

"Why?" Aang asked

"Kid, how do you think Zuko found us last time?"

"She's right" Katara nodded "If they realized who you are, Zuko would get to know too, someway"

"And accompanying the only flying-bison is a pretty indication of your identity" Iris added

Aang sighed "Okay"

He landed Appa behind a small hill and the four got down. Aang led them to the crown of the hill and then spread his arms

"The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!" he declared "I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi."

"Wow. We don't have cities like this in the South Pole." Katara said in awe

"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka said in amazement

"Actually, I have seen better" Iris shrugged

And three heads turned towards her

"Where have you seen better?" Sokka asked

Iris just shrugged

"Well, let's go slowpokes! The real fun is inside the city!" Aang declared. Aang launched himself into the air and landed farther down the hill.

"Wait, Aang! We talked about it. It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar." Katara said

"You need a disguise," Sokka added

"So, what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?" Aang asked. Then it looked like he had an idea. he turned to face Appa and after a few seconds, he was wearing a huge fake head of hair and mustache made out of some of Appa's hair. And then started scratching underneath the 'wig'.

"Ohh, this is so itchy!" he turned to Appa "How do you live in this stuff?"

Appa just grunted in response

"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather." Sokka said

"Technically, Aang is 112 years old," Katara added

Aand picked his staff, using it as a walking stick and said in a fake old man's voice "Now let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers! The big city awaits."

Iris started laughing, which made others laugh

Iris chuckled, finishing her laugh, but she still supported a huge grin

"I can help you disguise if you are uncomfortable"

"Actually, it's growing on me" Aang replied

Iris chuckled "Alright kid. Let's go"

"Uh...Iris," Sokka started, stopping them all "Your white hair is pretty recognizable too"

Iris looked at her hair. He did have a point. A young girl with white hair was highly recognizable.

"Get down Appa, please," she asked

Appa bent down. She climbed on top of him, rummaged her duffel, and jumped back with a black scarf in hand. She wrapped it around her head and then around her neck. Now only wisps of white hair were visible

"Good?" she asked

"Yeah" Katara nodded

"Cut your yappin'. Let's go!"

* * *

Iris was tired of being proven wrong. Coming to Omashu was one of the biggest mistakes ever made by them. She, for once, was actually looking forward to their pit stop and enjoy the day. Getting trapped in growing, creeping crystals while the psycho old king challenges kid was not a plan! She did not get the memo for that!

And since she was still discovering the ropes of energybending, she had no option but to stay still and let the events go far.

As if putting them in prison for no reason, trapping her, Katara, Sokka in crystals and Neva in a cage, making Aang fetch keys suspended in the middle of a waterfall, making him fetch his pet and now a duel? How many times did this king's mother drop him as a kid?

Iris saw in horror when with tremendous effort, the king tore the entire gate area of the arena out of the ground and held it over his head. Aang screamed in terror and began to run in circles, creating a tornado. The King threw the massive earth mound, but the tornado grabbed it and threw it back at him. As it reached the King, he bisected it neatly in two. Aang appeared between the rock pieces and pinned the King with his staff.

Iris breathed in relief but it short-lived when she saw the king smile and a huge chunk of rock over Aang, ready to crush them both.

"Hehe! Well done, Avatar. You fight with much fire in your heart." The King chuckled, throwing the rock to the side of the arena. He then fell backward into the floor, disappearing and leaving a body shaped hole, flabbergasting them all

Iris felt the ground vibrate near her. Soon a hole opened and the king emerged, too close for her liking, and the hole closed instantly beneath him. Aang, using his staff as a helicopter blade, landed on the balcony.

"You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question."

Iris rolled her eyes. This King would be the death of them

"That's not fair!" Aang called "You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests."

"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"

Iris had to agree on a little there.

"Oh come on!" Sokka groaned

"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free." The King said "What... is my name?" he turned to look at them, his eyes stayed on her for a few extra seconds before he looked back at Aang "From the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes." and he left

"How am I supposed to know his name?" Aang asked

"He wouldn't have made you do those things if he didn't think you'd recognize him," she said

"You think I know him?" Aang asked

"Maybe from your old days. You said you had friends in every nation, right?"

"Think about the challenges, maybe it's some kind of riddle," Katara added

"I got it!" Sokka exclaimed

"Yeh?"

"He's an earthbender, right? Rocky!"

Silence, followed by a cough in the background., which made iris question. Who was listening to them? Was that even a real couch

"You know, because of all the rocks?" Sokka justified while Iris just rolled her eyes

"We're gonna keep trying, but that is a good backup." Katara deadpanned

"Okay, so back to the challenges. I got a key from the waterfall. I saved his pet and I had a duel." Aang counted back

Iris winced the crystal trapped her only free arm

"And what did you learn?" Katara asked

"Not to increase the pressure, kid, but could you think a little faster?" Iris added

"Well, everything was different than I expected."

"And...?" Katara urged

"Well, they weren't straightforward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would."

"Like the mail delivery system?" Iris muttered

Realization swept over his face "I know his name!"

"Thank Merlin!" she cried of relief

* * *

She was right. That psycho king did turn out to be his old friend Bumi. He freed them all from their prisons and let Neva out. Let's just say Neva was not happy with being trapped in a cage. And she bit those soldiers to prove her point

"Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asked

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people, hehe" he snorted "but I do have a reason." he turned to Aang "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord, and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius!"

Aang returned the smile and bowed his thanks

"And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation." he chuckled "Especially an energybender"

Momo jumped onto Aang's shoulder.

"And you'll need Momo too." King Bumi added

Iris's jaw was metaphorically hiring the floor, but her eyes were visibly wide. And the other three mirrored her expression

"How did you know Iris is an energybender?" Aang asked

"I'm old" he chortled "Old people know things"

"That doesn't make a lot of sense" Iris folded her arms with a small frown

"Come with me," he said and turned to leave. The four exchanged a look but followed him

"Energybenders have been extinct for over 10,000 years. Imagine my surprise when I saw one entering my city, with the Avatar" he chortled again "I was shaken" then snorted

"But how did you know I am an Energybender?" she jogged near him

"I felt it. Through the earth" he replied and stopped in front of two huge stone doors. He bent them open to reveal a library. Iris just looked around in awe. This was so different compared to the Air Temple library.

"Here..." Bumi appeared in front of her

"Iris. My name's Iris" she smiled

Bumi nodded, extending a thick book

"What's this?" she asked, accepting the book

"I think you know already" he softly said. Iris turned the book, opened it, and flipped the pages. Wait. it was...the same book she took from the Air Temple library. Wait. She opened the book in the middle and there it was, another notebook in another cavity

She removed the notebook, keeping the book on a nearby table

She flipped it open. It seemed like it was in continuation of the previous journal

She looked at Bumi and smiled

"Thank you so much, King Bumi"

"It's an honor to meet the Last Energybender" he did a small bow and she returned it

"Are there any more journals like this?"

"I'm afraid there were only two. One is at the Southern Air temple and one is here"

"This means a lot to me" Iris chuckled "Thanks again"

"Thank you for your wisdom." Aang added, "But before we leave, I have a challenge for you!"

* * *

While Aang and Bumi played with the delivery system, Iris stayed behind with the siblings, looking over the journals. She had finished the first journal and started the second one. This one had comparatively fewer entries, but still very detailed. She finished it rather quickly. And they created a few plot holes for her.

But the more she thought of this, the more things made sense. And then a realization hit a ton of bricks. She might have a theory on how energybenders got extinct!

* * *

The next morning at Sunrise, they left Omashu. That day, Iris spent connecting everything, making a rough timeline and diagrams. She kept on drawing and things just seem to fit in like puzzle pieces. That night she could barely sleep, the anxiety was building in her. Finding out what happened to the people who vanished like thin air while being considered as the strongest benders, it was a huge find.

The next day she decided to share her findings with others. On their comfortably silent ride, Iris finally spoke up

"I think I figured out what happened to energybenders 10,000 years ago."

"What?" Aang asked eyes widened

"You did it?!" Katara demanded

"Yeah. I have a theory. There aren't any solid proofs, just a crazy theory"

"Iris, you might have just solved one of the biggest mystery of the last 100 centuries!" Aang said excitedly

"So, what's your theory?" Sokka asked

* * *


	6. Imprisonment and Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of a game-changer. So, read it carefully. Also, keep in mind that Iris is a 19 Y.O trying to explain her theory to a bunch of kids.

"So what's your theory?" Sokka asked

Iris took a deep breath. She was no Hermione. But the things she found just made sense in only that way.

"Okay," she muttered "First there's something I want to say about myself. Like I told you the very first we met," she looked at the siblings "I come from a different world."

"You said there weren't any Fire Nation of the Earth Kingdom from where you come from" Katara added "You never explained"

Iris nodded

"What?" Aang asked, "What do you mean you come from another world?"

"Back in my homeworld...I was having some issues. I lost a few friends. They were killed." she bit her lip, "And I couldn't stay. the longer I stayed, the more I missed them and the more blamed myself for their deaths, even if I... even if I wasn't the cause of their death" she replied, "I was suffering from survivor's guilt. So my friend suggested I leave to start a new life elsewhere where people won't recognize me. He told me about the Multiverse. Worlds that are similar yet different. So I left. When I woke up, I was near the Southern Water Tribe. And, well, rest is history"

She took a deep breath, "The people in my world are basically of two types. Magicals and Normal. Magical are people like me, who can energybend. Normal people are called a lot of names depending on where you live. My community calls them muggles. Others call them mundane or No-Maj. The population of muggles is far larger than that of magical. We are basically a hidden society of sorts."

She looked at the three of them who were listening to her very intently. She better not screw it up.

"I used to have history lessons in school. But I don't remember reading any history on how magic came to being. The oldest source of information I remember reading is from the 3rd century. I come from the 20th century, the end of it."

"How much is that?" Sokka asked

"Uh..." she paused, doing the maths in her mind "1700 years, near about. History before that wasn't recorded. Or I couldn't find it. But I don't remember reading anything before that century. But what none of them tell is the birth of magic. It all starts with- there were people who were born with magic and there were those who weren't."

She bent down and pulled the two journals

"They hold a bloody treasure of information" she chuckled "Okay, so Energy Clan were nomads."

"Like air nomads?" Aang asked

"No." Iris shook her head "Air nomads lived in temples, right? Energy Clan had no such home. They were the true nomads. And they moved along the flow of energy of the Earth. Uh..." she paused "Like a river, energy flows through Earth. You know when sometimes there are big holes and rivers create lakes? Once the lake's full, the water overflows into a new river"

"Yeah" Katara nodded

"Just like that, energy flows. Sometimes there are holes in which energy gets stored. And it is at these places, the energybenders would stay at."

"So they had no fixed home?" Sokka asked

Iris shook her head and sighed "Look, I'm trying my best to explain. I just hope I'm not confusing you guys"

Katara smiled and kept a hand on hers "You are doing a good job"

Iris smiled back "Since they were nomads, they packed very little and only essentials. They were so efficient, that one day they could be here, but by tomorrow morning they'd have left and there wouldn't be a proof that they were ever here"

"That's neat" Sokka muttered

Iris nodded "And that's why they kept their records with Air temples and the Earth Kingdoms. They didn't write their own. Their art was totally theirs. These journals would pass on from temple to temple, kingdom to kingdom for people who were close to energybenders to fill in."

"Why not Fire nation or Water tribes?" Katara asked

"Firebenders were considered...what was the word...temperamental. Waterbenders, well as far as I could read, the energybenders rarely visited the Tribes. They mainly moved along the other three nations. Besides, energy at the poles is different than the rest of the Earth. And these journals are pretty important. If one read all of the entries, they could almost predict where the Energy Clan would settle next, albeit temporarily."

"But why would they move around so much?" Sokka asked

"Because they drew their power from Earth's energy. They were like walking batteries!"

"What are the batteries?" Aang asked

Iris blinked twice, then smacked her forehead "I forgot that I'm in a different world. Forget what I said about batteries." she sighed "But these people drew their power from the Earth's energy, just like Waterbenders draw their power from moon and Firebenders from Sun. Stronger energy in Earth would make them stronger. Hence why they moved" she paused and looked at them

"I'm confusing you guys, aren't I?"

"No!"

"Nuh-uh"

"I understood everything crystal clear"

Iris frowned and folded her arms with a small frown

The three shared a quick guilty look

"A little" Aang admitted

"Yeah" katara nodded

"I didn't quite understand after you said batteries" Sokka replied

Iris took a deep breath and pulled her knees up, running a hand through her white hair "Guys, I'm really trying. These journals, while informational, are jumbled up. To read it all and make sense, it's a tough job on me"

"Then let's take a break for the day," Katara said "You definitely need rest. And we need to stop for lunch anyway"

"What time is it?" Iris asked, doing a quick _Tempus_. It was around 3 in the afternoon. Wow time really flew

"Aang," Katara said

Aang nodded and lowered Appa, under the huge forest canopy.

Iris jumped down and stretched her limbs, while Neva took off to check the surroundings and feed herself.

"Okay, where's food?" she asked, turning to face them all, only to meet their guilty looks

"Guys?"

They got more guilty, if possible

Iris frowned "Bumi sent a huge buffet with us. And I refuse to believe that we finished it all in a day and a half" she crossed her arms

"I got bored," Sokka said, slightly raising his arm "and I get hungry when I get bored"

"Me too" Aang meekly added

Katara just looked away. Her habit of munching on anything when bored was nothing new to Iris

Iris sighed, rolling her eyes. She reached up to their food stock and checked.

"You skipped dinner last night" Katara added

"Just one meal, Kat," she muttered. The anxiety had made her lose her appetite. Really there was no food left, just crumbs. She turned to the three with a frown

"Seriously, you three need to control your food intake"

"Sorry" came a chorus

Iris sighed and jumped down "so what do we do now?"

"We can go look for fruits!" Sokka suggested

Iris sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose "Okay"

"I'll go" Sokka added

"fine" she muttered "Take Neva and Momo with you"

She whistled once and Neva returned in a minute, perching on her extended forearm

"Go with Sokka and see if you can find something to eat?" she said

Neva nodded with a chirp and jumped to settle on Sokka's shoulder. Sokka turned, picked a bag and left

Iris sighed and sat on the ground, leaning on Appa. She took out the two journals and began looking over her notes.

"Aren't you getting a little too obsessed with those journals?" she heard Katara

"This is a huge find, Kat. I think I can afford to get a little obsessed."

Aang and Katara just exchanged a worried look.

* * *

Sokka returned about an hour later. By then Aang was just goofing around while Katara had decided to take a short nap. Iris was still indulged in the journals.

"Great, you're back! What's for lunch?" Aang got up

Sokka sat down while others looked at him

"We've got a few options." he opened his bag and started taking out stuff "First, round nuts and some kind of oval-shaped nuts, and some rock shaped nuts that... might just be rocks. Dig in!"

Sokka threw one of the nuts that might have been a rock over his shoulder. It landed near Momo. The other three exchanged a look and then back at Sokka.

"Seriously, what else ya got?" Katara asked

Sokka peered with one eye into the bag, hoping to find something else.

Iris leaned back onto Appa and looked at Neva who was perched on her knees

"You really didn't find anything?"

Neva trilled and bobbed her head in a negative

Sokka tossed another nut-rock over his shoulder, which again landed near Momo

Iris sighed and sat straight, crossing her legs

"Let's see if we can find some town or village nearby and refill our supplies," she said "And from now on, I'm going to put a lock on food stock. Guys, we need to use our resources better. This can't repeat itself"

And she had no intention of cooking wild mushrooms for any meal or any other disgusting thing.

"Okay" the three nodded

Iris packed the journals and stood only for a huge earthquake to literally shake her off her feet

"Ouch!" she winced, rubbing her butt "What was that?"

Aang got up and pointed at a direction

"It's coming from over there!"

"Hey wait!" Iris called before they could rush out to find them "We talked about subtlety. Lemme go and see. It could be a firebender"

She got up and headed for the boom source. She stopped and looked back at the three "Stay here"

She turned again and resumed her way to the source. She was just about to turned, when her foot caught on something and she tripped down

"Fucking merlin" she muttered. She was 19! how come she still tripped when walking? How was she still so clumsy?

"Are you okay?"

Iris looked up.

He was cute, she'd give him that. And looked about her age.

Iris looked at his extended hand and took it to stand up

"Yeah. I don't know how I'm still tripping from rocks" she chuckled nervously, cleaning her black jeans. She cursed again when she realized that her jeans had roughed up around the knee, which was now started to bleed

"that'd be my fault" he chuckled nervously, almost hesitantly

Iris looked at him for a few seconds when she realized he was an Earthbender, but refrained from voicing that

She cleared her throat

"Well, is there any town or village nearby? It would be a huge help"

"Yeah. there's a village just on the other side of the forest. You can follow this creek to reach there"

"Thank you..."

"Haru" he smiled

"Iris" she replied "I should go. But thank you so much for the help"

She turned and sparing one look at Haru, she walked back

"So, what was that?" Aang asked, jumping to his feet, the moment she returned

"I found an earth bender. But that's not important. There's a village on the other side of the creek. And this is what we are going to do- we go to this village, restock and leave. Clear? Anything?"

The three shook their heads.

"Great. Let's go"

* * *

As the four make their way to the village,

"Maybe you should change your..." Sokka pointed at her tee

"T-shirt?" she asked

"yeah" Sokka nodded "Red and black, you kind of scream Fire Nation"

Iris had to admit, he did make a point. But this was her favorite quidditch shirt!

With a groan, Iris quickly glamoured her red tee into a grey one.

"Better?" she asked

Sokka was looking at her with wide eyes

"What?" she asked, checking her t-shirt. Was there a stain? Worse, a hole?

"You...y-you" he stammered pointing at her tee and then groaned

"How come you can change clothes on a whim?"

Iris rolled her eyes "I've got magic, Sokka."

Finally, the village appeared into their view

"Please don't buy anything we won't need," she said

And, of course, the first thing Aang buys is a hat.

Katara was buying fruits while Iris purchased other things.

Unable to find some lemongrass, only made her frown. She hadn't had a proper cup of tea ever since she landed in this world

"You might want to try that shop," the vendor told her "I'm sure they'll have lemongrass"

"Thank you" Iris smiled

"Hey, I'm done" Katara approached her

Iris nodded and together they placed all their supplies into their bags

"Are we leaving?" Sokka asked as he and Aang approached them

"I just want to buy lemongrass. Then we can leave" she told them

"What for?" Aang asked

"Tea" she answered "I haven't had a proper dose of caffeine ever since I came here. I want tea. I need tea!"

Aang just raised his hands in surrender "I get it"

"Where are you gonna buy that?" Sokka asked

"I was recommended that shop. I really hope they have lemongrass" she replied and swinging the bag over her shoulders headed for the shop, the other three following her.

She entered the shop "Excuse me, but I was looking to buy some lemongrass..."

She trailed off when she noticed Haru behind the desk

"Haru?"

Haru blinked "Iris" he nervously chuckled "I wasn't expecting you" he rubbed the back of his head

"I wasn't expecting you either" she chuckled

"Do you know this young woman, Haru?" the woman next to him asked

"I met her in the forest, mom" Haru replied then faced her "How's your knee? Is it still bleeding?"

Iris slightly shuffled and crossed her legs "N-No" she replied "I'm fine"

"So you're the earthbender she saw" Katara exclaimed

At once, Haru and his mother's eyes widened. Iris took a calming breath. Another talk on subtlety needed to be done.

Haru frowned at her "These are your friends?"

"Yeah" she answered, unsure why he seemed mad

"Haru, how do they know that?" his mother demanded

"Iris saw me earthbending" he admitted

And in an instant, all the door and windows were shut by his mother

"You know how dangerous that is! You know what would happen if they caught you earthbending!"

Haru sighed in defeat and Iris felt bad for him. And why would that be a bad thing?

Suddenly a loud knock on the door startled them all. Sokka walked to the window and parted the blinds

"Open up!" a burly voice demanded, followed by two loud raps

"Fire Nation!" Sokka whispered harshly "Act natural!"

Iris quickly grabbed the scarf around her neck and wrapped it around her head and turned to face the wall, appearing as if she was looking for something. Before Haru's mother could open the door, she reached and adjusted a mirror ahead of her so she could see the reflections and observe everything

Haru's mother opened the door and the Fire Nation soldiers entered. She closed her eyes and took another calming breath when the other three were caught in the midst of some very unconvincing "normal" poses. The top of the barrel that Aang was leaning upon shifts and his hand went into the water up to his shoulder.

"What do you want? I've already paid you this week." Haru's mother demanded

The soldiers just barged in as if they owned the place "The tax just doubled. Wouldn't want an accident, would we?"

The soldier produced a fireball in his hands and smirked. While others moved to the sides, Iris got closer to the wall, looking at everything via the mirror

Quitely moving her hand, she used a _Locomotor Mortis_ on the soldier

As he went to take a step forward, his legs stuck together, he lost balance and fell face first, to everyone's amusement.

With a growl, he tried to stand up and Iris cast the counter curse, allowing him to stand up. He looked around, blushing with embarrassment

He tried to take another threatening step towards Haru's mother, but before he could, she did a _Locomotor Wibbly_ , popularly known as the Jelly-Leg curse, on him. Once again he tripped and fell face-first

Sokka snorted but quickly covered it with a cough. Even the other soldiers accompanying him snorted and chuckled

Now thoroughly embarrassed, the soldier got up, glared at Haru's mother

"I'll be back" and left, slamming the door behind him

And once that was done, Katara, Aang, and Sokka broke out their hysterics. Aang literally rolled on the floor, clutching his stomach, while laughing

Iris smiled and turned around,

"You should have seen his face!" Sokka chortled

"That was amazing Iris!" Katara grinned at her

"You did that?" Haru looked at her, eyes wide

"Guilty" she softly chuckled, removing the scarf-hood

"But how?"

"She's an energybender" Aang replied for her, causing her to sigh

"Kid, we spoke about it" she tiredly looked at him

Realization dawned on him "Right. Sorry"

"I don't know about energybender, but thank you for what you did"

"I'm just happy to help. I really don't like bullies anyway"

"Let us repay you" she added

"Oh, it's not really needed. We should be on our way." she smiled "I came here to buy lemongrass. You wouldn't have any of it would you?"

"We sure do" Haru's mother smiled and then looked at Haru "Fetch some from the storeroom, son." she looked back at Iris "Tea-lover, I presume"

"You presume correctly"

"Also get some ginseng and jasmine, Haru"

"It's not required. Lemongrass is enough"

"Let us thank you" and she walked to the desk, while Haru left to get stuff

"Just take it," Sokka said

"I guess I can" she shrugged

"Nice guy, that one. How long has the Fire Nation been here?" Sokka asked, walking to Haru's mother

"Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships," she replied

Haru returned with lemongrass, ginseng, and jasmine

"They're thugs; they steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it," he said, keeping them on the desk

"Quiet, Haru. Don't talk like that." she chastised

"But, Haru's an earthbender, he can help," Katara replied

"Earthbending is forbidden."

"That's terrible" Iris whispered

Haru's mother nodded "It's caused nothing but misery for this village. He must never use his abilities."

"How can you say that? Haru has a gift. Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend. It's a part of who we are." Katara exclaimed

Iris eyed her in surprise.

"You don't understand." Haru's mother replied

Iris kept a hand on Katara's back, calming her

"We are very sorry about that," she said

Haru's mother nodded slightly

"If they found out Haru could earthbend, they could take him away! Like they took his father."

Iris nodded in understanding as she bagged the things and paid for them. She got the things on discount, even if she insisted to pay the fair price

"Well, it's soon going to be sunset," Aang said, looking out of the window then back at the group "We can't travel more today"

Haru's mother offered them a place to spend the night. Even if they tried to say no, she insisted. Eventually, they all accepted

* * *

Haru led them to a barn behind his house. Opening the door, he entered, others following him

"My mom said you can sleep here tonight" he smiled

"Thank you so much, Haru" Iris smiled "I promise, we'll leave in the morning. We don't want to cause trouble"

"Thanks." Aang approached them "I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all your hay."

The three looked at the ten-ton flying bison, who looked at them, stopped chewing for a few seconds and then began chewing again

Haru nodded once more and left

Katara walked outside, but Iris called her

"where are you going?" she asked

"Just outside" Katara replied

Iris nodded "Take care and be back by nightfall"

Katara nodded and walked out

Once Katara left, she closed the door behind her. She settled close to Appa and slightly groaned in pain

"What's wrong?" Sokka asked, hearing her pained groan

Iris didn't reply, just removed her boot and rolled her jeans up. Yikes

The blood had dried off, the scab had started to form. The worst part, since she didn't even clean it, it was starting to get infected.

"You are bleeding!" Sokka exclaimed

"Oh relax, Sokka. It's just a scratch. And the blood dried off. I'm not bleeding" she winced, folding her knee "Is there some clean water?" she asked

"I'll get some" Aang got up and rushed outside the barn and returned with a bowl of water "Here" he kneeled next to her "that looks bad"

"Why didn't you tell us you were hurt?" Sokka asked

"I thought it was a minor scratch. Didn't really think I got a wound" she replied. Using her scarf, she cleaned her wound. Under all the dried blood, it did turn out to a proper wound. No wonder she bled more than imagined amount of blood

Once clean, she placed a few healing spells and cleaned her scarf

"It should heal by tomorrow morning," she told them and rolled her jeans down

"That's good" Aang nodded then looked at her with a grin "By the way what you did with a soldier, was amazing"

"I didn't know you could do that" Sokka grinned at her

"Just a few minor spells" she shrugged with a smile "I'm glad you enjoyed"

* * *

In another hour, Iris had finished her theory completely. And if they got time, she'd explain it to the group tonight. She hoped everything would go right.

With a sigh, she got up, slightly wincing in pain

"where are you going?" Sokka asked

"to get some fresh air" she replied and walked outside. She saw a small hill and sat down, as the sun touched the horizon.

Neva flew into her arms, getting comfortable

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Iris looked over her shoulder as Haru came and sat next to her

"It is" Iris smiled "Sunsets and sunrises are my favorites"

Haru chuckled next to her then looked into her arms

"Your pet?"

"My friend" she corrected "Haru, this is Neva. Neva, Haru"

Neva chirped her greeting and Haru greeted her back

"I'm really sorry about your father," she said, "We had no idea the extent of control these firebenders were exercising."

"It's bad" Haru sighed "But we make it through"

"Trust me, I know what it's like when you are told not to use your abilities. It's frustrating"

Haru just nodded

Silence surrounded them

"So energybending,"

She chuckled "Honestly, even I haven't figured it out completely. I know how to do a few things here and there. But I'm far from mastering it"

"I didn't know you could bend energy," he said

"Even I discovered I could bend energy like a month ago." she chuckled "Don't ask me for details"

"I won't" Haru smiled "But when I first saw you, I thought you were an Earthbender. You eyes are very beautiful green"

Iris looked at him and smiled

"Thank you. I get them from my mother"

"And your hair? Is it natural?"

Iris laughed, tucking a strand of white hair behind her ear

"Some things are supposed to be secret"

"Got it" Haru nodded

Silence again. Iris, smiling, looked back at the sunset

"Thank you for what you did today. Saving me and my mother"

"I did tell you I hate firebenders"

"You did" he nodded "But really th-"

"Haru," she looked at him "Your mother and you both have thanked us enough by giving us a discount on stuff and let us stay here tonight. To be honest you are doing more for us than we did for you. Thank you"

Haru smiled, looking into her eyes. Dull green bore into emerald green. His eyes flicked to her lips for a quick moment and he started to lean towards her. Iris didn't move, but her stupor broke the moment he was about to kiss her. She pulled and looked at him with wide eyes. Haru's eyes widened too

"I didn't mean to overstep-"

"You didn't over...step..." she grunted "I'm sorry." she stood up "I gotta go"

She turned and briskly walked back to the barn. She entered, closing the doors behind her

"You okay, Iris?" Aang looked at her. iris looked over and relaxed a little to see Katara back safely

"Yeah" she replied and walked in, settling next to Appa. To distract herself, she opened the journals

"If you guys are good, I'd like to finish the explanation"

the three sat around her and she inhaled sharply

"Right. Last I said was energybenders drew their power from the earth, right?"

The three nodded

"Okay, so the energybending clan was quite small. The probability of an energybending couple to give birth to energybending children was quite less" she opened the first journal and opened a specific entry "Here it says that only every 3rd child was born energybender. Others were non-benders. And this clan was so exclusive, that once these non-energybender kids would turn adult, they were asked to leave and live as non-benders."

"That's unfair" Katara frowned

"Tell me about it" Iris muttered "Another thing I found out, Avatars were not born into Energy Clan. And they were never taught how to energybend"

"Why?" Aang asked

"Because energy clan considered their bending to be far more superior. According to them, unless you were born as an energybender, you didn't have the right to learn energybending. Trust me, I know how it sounds. Another reason they wouldn't teach the Avatar was because they considered that the Avatar couldn't handle it, on top of all four elements"

"That doesn't make sense," Sokka said, "If the Avatar can learn all four elements, why can't he learn the fifth one?"

"A lot of things in here do not make sense, Sokka. And I can't find all the answers, I'm afraid." she opened the second journal and turned to the page she had marked "But I did find out why they were so close-knit and secluded. A master energybender can take away another person's bending"

She looked at them and saw the look of horror on all three

"You can't be serious" Aang muttered

"I'm very serious, kid. And no, I'm not joking." she flipped a few pages "Oh here it is. The reason they didn't teach the Avatar energybending was that they didn't want the Avatar to take the easiest route during disputes. Though Energybenders had always been a close ally to the Avatar"

"What do you mean the easiest route during disputes?" Aang asked

Iris sighed "Kid, if there's a dispute between two strong benders and an Avatar intervened, the quickest and easiest route would be to take their bending away and the dispute would dissolve. They didn't want anything like that to happen. And since Avatars were never taught Energybending, they were not born into that clan"

Katara pulled her knees close and Iris could see a bit of fear in her blue eyes

"What else did you find?" her voice was small

"I found why they went extinct. But here's the kick. Energybernders never went extinct. They were displaced. At least I think so"

"Displaced where?" Sokka asked

"This is the last entry in the journals." she muttered, "Okay, it happened 10,000 years ago. There was a conqueror who had world domination in mind. Nothing new there. The Avatar of that time, a waterbender, stepped in to stop him. It was near this battleground, the energybenders had settled for the time being. Now, these people were extremely cool and don't take part in conflict unless completely necessary. This dispute between the Avatar and the conqueror threatened their livelihood, so two leaders of the clan, approached the Avatar to talk to her. They asked her about her plan. Unfortunately, her plan was to kill the conqueror and finish the war before it would start. And she asked for the assistance of the energybenders to settle the riots which would erupt once she'd kill the conqueror.

Now these two leaders of the clan, had a disagreement between them. One of them believed that the Avatar was doing the right thing. Other one believed that this could be prevented without violence. This argument escalated and soon, the clan got separated in two. They argued with each other for about a few days.

Then it says that when the next day, the writer visited the campsite, the entire clan had vanished. Overnight. Just like that"

The three kids sat there, absorbing the information

For Aang, it was hard to believe that an Avatar resorted to violence to settle a dispute. His whole life he was taught the path of non-violence. A small shudder went down his spine

"But disappearing overnight was their thing, right?" he asked meekly

Iris nodded "But they left everything behind. Their tents, clothes, food. Even the campfire was warm to touch. After that, no energybenders were spotted. Ever again"

"What do you think?" Sokka asked

Iris closed the books and rested her arms in her lap "I think this dispute they had among themselves, creating an energy discharge. An anomaly. Phoenix have the ability to travel through dimensions at will. So, the phoenix, who were their animal companions, reacted to that discharge and transported them all to another world. A world where they would be significantly weaker compared to here but would flourish. And those energybenders evolved further into what we call wizard and witches in the modern times. Actually that would also explain the use of wands and staffs as mediums and the pureblood beliefs" she muttered the last part to herself

She sighed, taking a deep breath

"Did I lose you guys again? 'Cause this is the simplest explanation I could muster up and if you didn't understand this, you guys are idiots!"

"No, we understood fine" Katara said "It's just a little hard to digest"

Iris eyed her "I just found out the biggest secret of my powers. And why certain things are the way they are at my homeworld. Katara, this is a shocker for me too"

"Now what are you going to do?" Aang asked

Iris sighed, running her hands through her hair, pulling herself close

"I don't know. I want to master energybending. But at the same time, I'm kind of scared of the power. Taking another person's bending, it a huge thing"

Silence. All four of them sat in silence, mulling over their thoughts

"I think you should master energybending" Aang spoke up, gathering all the attention "It's been too long since they have been extinct. And for you to end up here, the last energybender, it can't be a coincidence. I think you were sent here to bring the Energy Clan back. It's only fair then. The world would be balanced only then"

"He's right" Katara added "It sounds scary, but then again every element is dangerous in its own way. And it is not the past anymore. If anyone can bring them back, it's you"

"And we'll help you learn and master it." Sokka smiled "You cannot let your fear of what might happen to control your actions. And it's not like you have to take someone's bending. You shouldn't worry about it. We believe in you"

Iris smiled, her eyes starting to tear up a little. She chuckled and blinked her tears back

"As far as secrets go, there's something more I want to confess to," she said. She personally couldn't keep it anymore. Her past being a secret was starting to suffocate her. And hiding it from people who looked up to her felt wrong. 

And she told them everything that happened to her. How Voldemort planned to take over the world. A prophecy made her the only person who could defeat him. How he murdered her parents, orphaning her. Being raised in an abusive house, to the point where she took part in the second biggest war of her world at 17 and won it.

In the end, she just pulled herself closer

"I'd understand if you'd start hating me for the decisions I made. I'm not proud of many things in my life, anyway. And I'd also understand if you don't me to travel with you anymore too"

Iris got up, eyes tearing again, intending to clear her mind outside

"You can't be serious?!"

she turned around to see Katara, standing, palms fisted and her eyes glassy but reflecting so much anger

"You really want to leave? Well, then fine! Leave. Lemme tell you this, You are the most selfish person I've met. You just tell us everything that went wrong in your life and you use it as an excuse to run away and you expect us to let you go because you think you are this bad person who doesn't deserve to get a second chance at life because of some bad decisions you made when you were young and naive. Bullshit! You just don't trust us to look past those shortcomings of yours and think of you as someone more than just a means to an end. You've never trusted us! You've never trusted me!"

Iris was...she had no idea about that. She had no idea that Katara felt like that about her.

Katara just scoffed and turned around and sat down, her back facing Iris

"What she means to say is, don't leave," Sokka said "It doesn't matter what you did there. You are here now"

Iris took a deep breath

"You promised me that I'd never had to lose you"

Iris looked at Aang, who slowly stood up

"You promised me that you'd be there for me always. You cannot break that promise. And Sokka's right. It doesn't matter. You are no longer a part of that world. You are a part of this world. If anything, everything you do here matters. And ever since I've met, you helped me in every possible way. You've helped people around you without expecting anything in return. You are not bad, evil, broken, or damaged. You are Iris. You are the last energybender... You are my best friend"

Aang rushed to her and tackled her into a hug, pushing himself into her abdomen "Don't go. Please"

Sokka walked to them and hugged her too "Please"

Iris closed her eyes and hugged them back as tears flowed from her eyes

One moment, the tears were flowing down her cheeks and the next they weren't. Iris opened her eyes to find Katara waterbending her tears away. Her eyes were still glassy. Only then she realized it wasn't anger, but fear and sadness in Katara's eyes

"I'm sorry" Iris mouthed her

Katara chuckled and hugged her too

Sokka huffed under Katara's pressure but didn't complain

"I'm sorry." she chuckled, tears resuming their way

"Promise us you'd never leave" Surprisingly it was Katara who said that

Iris took a deep breath "I wasn't going to leave unless you'd ask me to." she sniffed "I promise I'd never leave you. none of you. And I'm sorry for thinking like that. I was just scared that you'd hate me for the things I did"

"We don't hate you," Sokka said "I don't think anyone can ever hate you"

"I'm afraid a lot of people would disagree" she chuckled "Thank you, guys"

* * *

Surprisingly, Iris was the first person to doze off. And they all understood. While learning about energybenders and Iris' past had been hard on them, it was hardest on Iris herself. So they made sure she was comfortable and once she slipped into the sleeping bag, she was off instantly, Neva right next to her

"Everyone should get some sleep. We're leaving at dawn." Sokka added, slipping into his own sleeping bag

"Dawn? Can't we sleep in for once?" Katara asked

"Absolutely not! This village is crawling with Fire Nation troops. If they discover you're here, Aang, we'll be eating fireballs for breakfast. Good night."

"I'd rather eat fireballs than nuts," Katara said with a sly smile

"And Iris is in no position to fight. So we leave at dawn. Good night."

And this time, the two listened and decided to grab shut-eye

* * *

"They took him! They took Haru away!"

The other three looked at Katara, standing at the doorway, pulling her hair in anguish

"What?" Aang asked

"The old man turned him into the Fire Nation. It's all my fault, I forced him into earthbending." Katara exclaimed

"Okay, slow down, take a breath, Kat. what exactly did happen? Tell us from the start"

So Katara told them everything.

"Haru's mother said they came for him at midnight," Katara added

"Then it's too late to track him, he's long gone," Sokka said, dropping Katara's hand that he was holding

Katara suddenly gained a determined expression "We don't need to track him. The Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru."

"Kat," Iris warned, but the girl paid no mind to her

"...and why would they do that?" Aang asked

"because they're going to arrest me for earthbending."

"Absolutely not" Iris shook her head

"But it was my fault they took him. I have to rescue Haru" Katara protested

"Then we need to be smart about it, not impulsive" she paused and thought for a moment "I have an idea"

* * *

The four of them stood at the shore, behind some thick foliage.

Neva swooped in and settled on Iris' extended forearm

"What's the view?"

Neva thrilled and chirped. While others couldn't understand a single thing, thanks to their familiar connection, iris understood everything

"There's a rig, offshore of here, where all the prisoners are kept. The entire thing is made of metal, so they can't earthbend anything"

"How are we going to do it?" Katara asked

"Make them earthbend"

"Uh...Iris, you just said they can't earthbend because the whole place is made of metal" Sokka pointed

"They can't bend metal. But the rig's are using coal as fuel. Haru's mother told us that. Neva saw the smoke"

"And coal's earth" Aang lit up

"We have to get the coal to them."

"What's the plan?" Katara asked

* * *

Iris did a disillusionment charm on them, as the four flew to the rig on Appa. Once they reached there, they hopped onto the rig. Aang told Appa to fly back and wait for them.

the four shared a collective look, nodded, and separated. Sokka and Iris went to find Haru, while Katara and Aang went to look for the hidden coal

Sokka had to appreciate Iris' ability to sneak around. Especially when her black vest, pants, and boots easily helped her blend in the shadows. The only thing that even popped out was her white hair. She sneaked them both to where the prisoners were kept.

Hiding in a small corridor, she crouched and looked over the entire compound. It turned out to be a good vantage point. And then she spotted someone come their way. She stood up and backed a little, before pulling the person into the corridor

He yelped but relaxed once he saw who it was.

"Iris?" he asked

"Hi" she chuckled "It's me. And Sokka"

Sokka waved from behind her

"What are you doing here?"

"Katara felt guilty about you getting captured. So we came to rescue you and the whole lot. Besides, you are too cute to be put in a rig-prison"

"So, you and everyone else sneaked onto this rig?"

"She sneaked us in" Sokka piped "She's the mastermind behind the plan"

Haru folded his arms across his chest and smiled "You got guts, Iris, I'll give you that. And I like that about you. So what's the plan?"

"you know someone here who can lead? To whom people will listen?" she asked

"Yes, my dad" he nodded

"I need to talk to him, then. Bring him to that place" she pointed at the spot

"That's a bathroom" he added

"And also make sure it's empty" she added quickly and then pushed him out

She turned to look at Sokka

"Let's go"

Through the air ducts, which was just big enough for them, they managed to enter the bathroom, which was, to their luck, empty

They stiffened as the door opened, but relaxed to see Haru with another man. Haru locked the door after them and smiled at her

"Iris, Sokka, this is my father, Tyro. Dad, this is Iris and Sokka."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Iris did a small bow

"It's a pleasure to meet you too" Tyro returned the bow, "My son tells me you are here to free us?"

"Yes, sir. It's terrible that these firebenders have captured you just because you can earthbend"

He chuckled "I'm afraid we plan to wait out this war. Hope that one day some of us can get back home and forget this ever happened."

"You sound like you already gave up," Sokka said as she folded her arms

"Iris, Sokka I admire your courage and I envy your youth, but people's lives are at stake here. The Warden is a ruthless man, and he won't stand for any rebellion. I'm sorry, but we're powerless."

"Sir, if everyone thought that, trust me, there won't be any war. You are powerless because you are making yourself powerless. I don't know much about the Earth Kingdom, but I do know that they are known for their sturdiness. Like the rocks. Like the Earth itself. I find it very hard to believe that you'd give up on that" she took a step forward and looked at him

"It's a war. Not just between two factions, but for people's lives. If you'd give out your hope and will to fight back for what is rightfully yours, what can be expected of the younger generation?" she gestured to Haru "He should have grown up proud of his abilities. But he grew up to be scared of them. And that's messed up. Someone once told me, be the change you want to see in the world. Every single step counts"

She walked back to the vent, gesturing Sokka to climb in, but spared a look at the father-son "We'd be able to smuggle some huge amounts of coal on the compound in a few minutes. If you really earn for your freedom, you'll know what to do"

Once Sokka was gone, she jumped and climbed into the vent and left. They landed back into the corridor and made their back to the earlier one, where they met Haru

"That was some amazing inspirational speech. When did you have the time to write it?"

"I didn't, Sokka. As a war veteran, I just know some things" she replied and quickly placed her hand on Sokka's mouth and cast another disillusionment charm on them both. Two soldiers passed by them but didn't spare them a look

She saw Haru and Tyro exit the bathroom and move back to the compound. She really hoped her speech made some effect. If it didn't, then there wasn't much they could do. She wouldn't risk the lives of three kids for a village of Earthbenders who didn't even want to earn their freedom.

Suddenly, the air began to rush out of the grates, followed by dust and pebbles, startling all the prisoners. Then a living river of coal erupted from the grate, eventually tearing it away. The coal erupted as it shot high into the air over the deck, blasting the grate away.

Iris managed to look at who she presumed was the warden, who looked utterly shocked and dismayed.

The coal landed in a massive pile between the earthbenders and the firebenders. The prisoners just looked at the pile of earth that has just appeared. Once done, Aang climbed out of that grate, covered in coal dust. He reached back and pulled Katara, who was also covered in coal dust. They both coughed it off

Katara looked at the prisoners

"Earthbenders! You don't know me, but I know of you. Every child of my water tribe village was rocked to sleep with stories of the brave Earth Kingdom and the courageous earthbenders who guard its borders. Some of you may think that the Fire Nation has made you powerless. Yes, they have taken away your ability to bend, but they can't take away your courage and it is your courage they should truly fear! Because it runs deeper than any mine you've been forced to dig, any ocean that keeps you far from home. It is the strength of your hearts that make you who you are, hearts that will remain unbroken when all rock and stone has eroded away. The time to fight back is now! I can tell you the Avatar has returned! So remember your courage, earthbenders. Here's your chance, earthbenders!" she grabbed a lump of coal and raised it high "Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!"

"She's good" Iris smiled

To all their surprise, or not, Tyro held Haru back. Various prisoners begin to shrink backward, eschewing open conflict.

"What is the meaning of this?" They all looked at the warden with an ugly frown on his face, appear "You thought you could sneak into my rig and stir my prisoners against me? You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank, hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago. Oh? But you believe in them? How sweet. They're a waste of your energy, little girl. You've failed."

Katara visibly slumped, looking defeated and sad

"Capture the intruders, now!" the warden ordered

The firebender soldiers surrounded Aang and Katara. Aang readied his staff, while Katara still seemed solemn

As the soldiers fired their fireballs, Iris conjured a shield surrounding them. She blasted the nearest soldiers with a _Petrificus Totalus_ and stepped out of the shadows

"Stay away from them" she narrowed her eyes. Sokka took out his machete, ready to fight.

More firebenders appeared, aiming for her, Sokka, Katara and Aang

Another round of fireballs came her way. She ducked then conjured a shield. She dropped the shield, dropped a few spells like _Stupefy_ and _Petrificus Totalus_ as the two made their way to the other two. The four stood there, near the grate, back to back. The soldiers surrounded them and Iris created a dome-like shield around them

Aang created a wind dome just adjacent, powering the shield further

"We are leaving!" Iris grunted, giving her best to hold the shield

"No. Not un-"

"Katara we tried speaking to them. It was useless!" Iris winced as the attacks repeatedly came

"They don't want their freedom" Sokka added "Trust us, we tried. They've given up"

"Now what?" Aang asked

"I'm not risking your lives for people who'd rather be imprisoned than fight for their freedom" Iris replied "We tried to inspire them, gave them rocks, but it didn't wo-"

A crack got all their attention. Her shield was cracking due to the constant attacks.

"We are leaving," she said strongly. She shared a look with Aang and the two nodded

At once, Iris lowered her cracked shield and Aang spun the wind dome, knocking everyone in the vicinity off their feet.

Iris closed her eyes, connecting to Neva, asking her to bring Appa to the rig.

She felt a rush of heat. She opened her eyes in time and deflected the fireball with the metal fans

"Iris!"

she looked over her shoulder at Katara's yell and her eyes widened seeing more than one fireball heading for her and she barely had time to deflect it. She deflected it but the one right next to it knocked her down

"Iris!" Sokka and Katara rushed to her

"I'm okay" she grunted and her eyes widened again seeing the simultaneous attacks of various soldiers aimed at her. She pushed the siblings out of the way but barely had time to move. She shielded her eyes with her arm but the impact never came

She opened her eyes and lowered her arm to see a barrier of coal in front of her, which dissolved. Katara helped her stand up and she shot someone a thankful smile. Iris followed her gaze and spotted Haru in an earthbending stance.

Haru nodded at her and then twirled two rocks before shooting one at the warden's head.

With a severe expression, the warden launched a blast of fire at Haru. The gout of flame was about to engulf Haru, who braced for it, when it was blocked by a wall of coal. Iris looked at the source, Tyro in an earthbending stance, who clearly stepped forward to protect his son.

"Show no mercy!" The Warden ordered

Flaring the metal fans, Iris dodged as the firebenders came in force at her and deflected others. Aang, Sokka, and Katara seemed to hold themselves good,

Iris placed several _Stupefy_ , only to see Haru approach her, holding a coal barrier

"I guess I owe you now" she chuckled

"We'll talk about it later" he replied

"For the Earth Kingdom, attack!" Tyro called

What followed could only be called a battle. And honestly, Iris hadn't fought like that in a while.

By the end of it, Tyro and two other earthbenders earthbended the entire coal dump, trapped the Warden and all his men in it, and moved them over the open water.

"No, please! I can't swim!" the warden begged

"Don't worry, I hear cowards float." Tyro replied and dropped them into the ocean.

Now using the Fire Nation ships, the former prisoners made their way back to their village. Iris stayed behind, promising to meet them at the village. Once everyone was at a safe distance, she walked into the compound, swept her eyes over the entire place. No one else was at the rig. Everyone was dealt with. As it was all clear, she looked down at the furnace

"Fuck you, Fire Nation" she muttered and aimed all her energy into the furnace "Bombarda Maxima"

* * *

Aang, Sokka, Katara, Neva, Momo, and the rest of the villagers saw as the rig exploded into a huge flame.

"Where's Iris?" Haru asked

"She said she'd meet us back here" Sokka muttered, worry starting to creep up to him

"Please be okay" Katara whispered next to him

Bushes near them shuffled loudly. Everyone turned to see Iris there, looking a little rough, but very alive.

"Iris!" the three chorused and rushed to hug her

"I'm fine" she chuckled, hugging them back "a little...eh...but fine"

Neva landed on her shoulder, snuggling into her neck

"I'm fine, Neva, I promise" she smiled

Iris heard footsteps and looked up to see Tyro stepping towards them. She patted the three on their back and they pulled looking at him too

"I want to thank you for saving me. For saving us."

"All it took was a little coal." Katara shyly replied

"It wasn't the coal, Katara, it was you. All of you" Haru smiled, his eyes lingering on Iris for a second too long

"Thank you for helping me find my courage, Iris. My family and everyone here owes you much." Tyro said

Iris smiled "You owe us nothing. We were glad we could help. It was a team effort"

"So, I guess you're going home now?" Katara asked

"Yes, to take back my village." he raised his voice and left hand in a fist "To take back ALL of our villages! The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our land!"

All the earth benders cheered back

"Come with us."

Iris looked at Haru and his extended hand

"Well, these three will come with me. We're kind of a package deal. Think you can handle us?"

Haru looked down at them. Aang looked innocent. Katara looked clueless. Sokka looked irritated.

She chuckled "I'm kidding, Haru. But I gotta pass. We've got a lot on our plate right now"

He nodded "I understand"

* * *

The group made it back to the village and quickly packed their stuff

She looked over her shoulder when she heard a throat clearing. Haru was standing there

"Everything okay?" she asked, climbing down Appa

Instead of replying, he kissed her. And this time, she didn't push him away. In fact, she pulled him closer. They broke up a few minutes later, due to their need for oxygen

"Thanks again, for everything" he smiled "I hope we'll meet again"

"So do I" she replied, her cheeks slightly warm

He smiled again and left. Following it was a loud crash

Iris looked at the source, a flabbergasted Sokka, who had just dropped a clay pot

"I'm scarred for rest of my life!" he cried suddenly

Iris just rolled her eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the amazing response so far. If you are still getting confused about energybenders after this chapter, worry not. I'll be posting further information in future chapters. This is just the tip of an iceberg.
> 
> Read and review and keep on supporting


	7. Winter Solstice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I checked the A: TLA wiki for info on energybending but there isn't much to go by. Whatever info was provided by the show or wiki, I've included that. So, I took the liberty to expand it on my own. Please don't come at me for that😅.So, enjoy the chapter.

"Those clouds look so soft, don't they? Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft cottony heap."

Iris looked up from the book at Katara. She looked around as they were surrounded by loads of clouds

"Maybe you should give it a try." Sokka dryly suggested

"You're hilarious." Katara deadpanned

"I'll try it!" Aang exclaimed and almost dove, but Iris did a _Wingardium Leviosa_ on him and placed him back at his spot

"You need to stop diving off of Appa for no apparent reason," she replied

Aang just rubbed the back of his head with a smile

"Did you find anything else that might be remotely interesting?" Sokka asked, leaning in to read the text

"These are just stances and basic energybending stuff. I want to cover all my bases before I teach myself the complex things," she replied

The stances were quite different from what she learned at Hogwarts. While there, she was told to focus on wand movements rather than body posture, here, body posture was the key. And each desired effect of energybending required a particular body movement, like any other bending. Simple spells, like the ones she had been using for a while, could be done with only wrist movements. But then again, energybending was not about spells. It was about manipulating energy. Energybending was an extremely powerful and potentially dangerous technique.

Sensing the energy of a place, or energy of the surroundings was the basic stuff. The energy of a person, on the other hand, was complex material. She was okay at reading a person's energy or a place's energy; if she could say so herself. That was how she knew Aang was the Avatar not to mention whatever happened to her at the Air Temple. Those noises, they still didn't make any sense to her. That happened weeks ago and no such thing repeated. Why did that happen in the first place?

she flipped the page and read further.

Manipulating energy seemed a lot harder than what the book presented. Energybenders were supposed to have clear heads while practicing energybending so they could do what they intentioned. A break in continuation or concentration could be fatal if the person was dealing with huge amounts of energy. While bending a person's energy, if the bender's spirit was even slightly weak, or bendable, they would be infected by the spirit of the one they are bending. As a result, the bender could be corrupted and even destroyed.

Okay, that stuff needed to be written in bold and highlighted, not written in regular text.

A master energybender could do a lot of 'impossible stuff' that mainly included astral projection, removing bending, granting bending(that's new!), and spirit energy manipulation. She didn't get the last one, honestly.

She sighed. She had no idea where to start. She was completely lost. What she wouldn't give to have an energybender teacher?

Energy came in different mediums. At the most basic, an energybender should know how to separate these forms of energy and use it to their advantage.

Iris blinked. Separate forms of energy? If she's right, that could mean thermal energy, wind energy like those turbines her uncle used to love trash talk about, sound energy, geothermal energy, hydropower-energy, not to mention solar energy.

Was there something she couldn't derive energy from once she'd learned everything?

She agreed to why Avatars weren't taught energybending. Energybending sounded a lot harder compared to being all four elements at once, not that she'd know for sure. Sure she couldn't bend the elements, but she could draw energy from them and use it. They were right. It would have been too much of a pressure on them.

"Hey, what is that?"

Iris hardly tore her eyes away from the book. It was sad that it took her this long to appreciate the bookish knowledge.

Iris looked where Katara had pointed. Up ahead, the floor of the valley below, around the river was black instead of vegetation green.

"It's like a scar," Sokka said

Aang guided Appa downwards. Appa landed and the four of them dismounted him. The entire landscape was barren. Tree stumps were burnt. It was badly damaged

Deciding to try something, Iris crouched and placed her hand on the ground. She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to feel the place's energy.

It was dull but present. And for some reason, oddly familiar. She just couldn't put her finger on it. Iris concentrated more. It felt like a pulse, a rhythmic throb of energy.

She smiled. Guess the forest wasn't entirely dead. That was great. She opened her eyes and got up and looked around. Katara and Sokka looked fine, but Aang didn't

"Is he okay?" she asked

The siblings looked at Aang. He sunk to his knees and ran his hands through the earth. The three shared a look and approached him

"Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?" Aang asked

Katara kneeled next to him

"Aang, you didn't let this happen. It has nothing to do with you."

"Yes, it does." Aang looked at her "It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But, I don't know how to do my job."

"That's why we're going to the North Pole to find you a teacher," Katara added

"Yeah, a waterbending teacher, but there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."

"The Avatar before you? He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?" Sokka asked

"I don't know. Iris said everything will reveal itself with time, but I don't know." he looked at her

Iris looked back at him before an idea struck her

"Wanna see something?" she asked

"What?"

She sat next to him on the ground and grabbed his hand, intertwined with hers and pressed both their hands on the earth

"Just concentrate and feel."

She found the dim pulse sooner than before and guided it towards Aang so he could feel it too. She didn't know how she did it. It just came naturally to her. They sat there for a few minutes before Aang slowly pulled his hand back

"What was that?" Aand asked

Iris opened her green eyes and looked at him

"The forest's energy. It's not really dead, kid. Give it a few years, it'll go back to its original glory."

Aang smiled. Momo jumped into his lap and began to chitter.

"she's right," Katara said, picking an acorn from the ground "These acorns are everywhere, Aang. That means the forest will grow back. Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday, and all the birds and animals that lived here will come back."

Katara placed an acorn in the palm of Aang's hands and closed it.

"Thanks, Katara." Aang smiled and looked at Iris "Thanks, Iris."

"Anytime, kid." Iris smiled "Hey was thinking maybe I can find out the forest's heart, or whatever it has, and see if we can help in any way. What do you say?"

"Sounds great." Aang smiled

"Forests don't have hearts," Sokka snorted

An acorn went flying and hit Sokka in the head, who winced and rubbed the spot

"I probably deserved that," he muttered

Iris chuckled and crouched again. She felt the pulse and tried to follow it, to find the source, but her attention was quickly grabbed the presence of another energy, other than the seven of them.

She disconnected herself and stood up

"Heads up. We have company," she said, pointing at the direction she felt the energy

"Firebenders?" Sokka asked

"I can't tell. I need more practice for that. But it is one person, that's for sure." Iris replied and looked over the three.

They looked at the direction and an old man appeared and approached them

"Hey, who are you?" Sokka asked

"When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible, but those markings... are you the Avatar, child?" he asked Aang

Aang looked at Iris, who nodded her head. He turned back to the old man and nodded his head in turn.

"My village desperately needs your help."

* * *

She really had to get used to this celebrity treatment from now on. And it would have been easier if it wouldn't always get on her nerves every fucking time!

The village chief and elder explained their problem- Spirit haunting.

It was totally up the Avatar's alley, wasn't it?

"Aang doesn't seem confident enough for this," Katara said from next to her. The two girls were observing Aang talking to the villagers.

"It's the winter solstice," Iris replied "Maybe it has something to do with it?" she shrugged "I don't really get spirits."

Katara shot her a look but Iris ignored it. Once Aang was done talking to them,

"Hey, 'great bridge guy', can I talk to you over here for a second?" Katara called, jerking her chin towards them

Aang walked over to them, followed by Sokka. Iris quickly placed a privacy spell around them, should anyone try to eavesdrop

"Aang, you seem a little unsure about all this," Katara said

"Yeah, that might be because I don't know anything at all about the spirit world." Aang sighed exasperated "It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff!"

"So, can you help these people?" Katara asked

"I have to try, don't I? Maybe whatever I have to do will just... come to me." Aang looked at Iris

"Yeahhh, we're all gonna get eaten by a spirit monster." Sokka drawled

Aang looked at him unsure and girls glared at him

"Shut up, Sokka." Katara snapped

"Well, I have no plans of getting eaten by any spirit monster, nor am I letting you guys get eaten. I don't know much about spirit stuff, but maybe I can help. Maybe." she said

"How?"

"A spirit will not attack a village for no reason. There has to be the reason. You just need to figure that out"

"So I need to talk to the spirit?"

Iris nodded, "There's another thing. After I came to the village, I tried to sense it's energy. I felt it, but...it was different than what I felt back at the forest, which for some reason felt familiar. And I just now realized where I had felt it. Air temple sanctuary. The energy at the two places was oddly similar. Anything peculiar about the sanctuary?" Iris asked, leaning on the wall

Aang thought for a minute "Well, the monks considered the sanctuary to be one of the most spiritual places of the temple."

They locked eyes and realized at the same time

"But I still don't know how to travel to the Spirit world."

"Well, the books on energybending say meditating is the way. We can give it a try."

Aang thought for another second and then nodded

"You both sure?" Katara asked

"It's the only way, Katara." Aang nodded

* * *

Before nightfall, the two of them and Neva went back to the forest on foot.

"where should I do it?" he asked

Iris crouched and felt the energy. She tried finding the source of pulse and eventually found it

"This way."

The two of them walked further into the destroyed forest. Eventually, they spotted a stone statue of a bear

"That's where the source is." Iris pointed at the statue

"So what? I meditate?"

"I guess," Iris shrugged "Maybe do it on top of the statue. Directly on top of the source. I swear, it has got some amazing energy."

Aang nodded and hopped on top of the statue. He sat down lotus position, placed his knuckles together, and closed his eyes. a serene look passing over his childlike features.

Iris looked at Neva and sat down on the forest ground. She copied Aang's position and closed her eyes, relaxing. Her goal wasn't the spirit world, but to understand her abilities.

It took her some time, but she managed to find her own energy source, aka magical core. Following that, she tried to connect with all the energy surrounding her. she could feel Aang's energy, it appeared bright white. She felt Neva, supporting a bluish-silver glow, smaller in size. Her energy glowed in silver. The forest's dim energy glowed a warm-earthly brown. Its glow was dim, just like the pulse. Visible but barely.

Iris went to try and absorb some energy. She tried borrowing the spiritual energy from the air. The more she tried, the more time it took. When she thought she had enough, she tried to give that energy to the forest ground, making her as a medium. And she managed it, she mentally cheered. By the end of it, the forest's glow was a little brighter than before. Satisfied with the result, she stooped and just relaxed, easing her core.

Then she felt a shift in Aang's energy. It dimmed a little. She took it as that he exited the spirit world.

She disconnected herself and slowly opened her eyes. She tried getting up but stumbled suddenly feeling dizzy

"Iris!" Aang appeared next to her, supporting her

"I'm okay, just a little dizzy. You okay, kid?"

Aang nodded and then grinned "I found out how to help the villagers!"

* * *

It was dawn by the time the two of them returned to the village

"Aang! Iris! You're back!"

The siblings made their way to them

"Did you find anything?" Sokka asked

Aang nodded "I know how to help them."

* * *

Once the night fell, Aang climbed up to the village gate

"Good luck, kid," Iris whispered, inside the meeting house with everyone else.

The wind picked up and started blowing dead leaves past him. And then the spirit monster appeared. The spirit monster broke through the roof of the building with the wind chime. It roared in triumph, releasing weird blue energy from its mouth. Aang grunted and made an energy shell similar to the one he created in the air temple

"Aang, what are you doing? Run!" Katara called, but Iris placed a hand on her shoulder

"He knows what he's doing," she replied

The creature roared and ran toward another building, but Aang ran underneath its legs and then jumped up onto its forehead. His hand glowed light blue, and Aang sued a panda bear superimposed over the monster. Aang jumped back to the porch of a nearby building.

"You're the spirit of this forest. I understand. You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned I was sad and upset. But my friends gave me hope that the forest would grow back."

The spirit stood still while Aang spoke. When he was finished, he showed Hei-Bai the acorn that Katara gave him. The spirit smiled and Aang placed the acorn on the porch. The monster picked up the acorn and transformed into a panda, turned, and walked away from the village.

As the panda-spirit exited the village, a thicket of bamboo grew in seconds. A moment later, a few villagers exited the thicket looking confused.

"You did it, kid." Iris appeared next to him

"I couldn't have done it without you." Aang looked at her as the siblings joined them

"Thank you, Avatar." the four looked at the village chief, "If there only were a way to repay you for what you've done."

"You could give us some supplies and some money," Sokka asked, shamelessly

Iris just took a breath and then smacked Sokka just when Katara elbowed him

"What? We need stuff." Sokka justified

The chief bowed, "It would be an honor to help you prepare for your journey." and he left

Katara turned to Aang snd grinned, "I'm so proud of you, Aang. You figured out what to do all on your own."

"Actually, I did have a little help." he spared a look at Iris then back at the siblings "And there's something else."

"What is it?" Sokka asked

Aang looked at Iris, who urged him to go-ahead

"I need to talk to Roku and I think I've found a way to contact his spirit."

"That's great!" Katara smiled

"Creepy, but great," Sokka added

"What's the catch?" Iris asked, crossing her arms

"There's a temple on a crescent-shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice I'll be able to speak with him," Aang answered

"But, the solstice is tomorrow." Katara reminded them

"And?" Iris prodded, feeling there was more

"Yeah, and there's one more problem. The island is in the Fire Nation."

* * *

The next morning, Iris woke up around 4 AM. Her natural body clock seemed to have stuck upon it. She checked over the three of them, who were asleep and decided to some fresh air. She magically changed into a pair of high-waisted leggings, a crop-tank top, and sneakers. She only packed one pair of gym wear, for reasons she no longer remembered. She tied her white hair in a ponytail. It had grown since she left Southern Water Tribe, now reaching her shoulder blades.

Neva accompanying her, she jogged out of the village and around the forest. Geez, how long had it been since she jogged like this? Definitely not since her quidditch practice. Seriously, who would have thought that once Savior of Wizarding World would be helping an Avatar in a whole different world? she chuckled at her own thoughts.

She returned before the sun could rise and stopped when she heard something. She followed the voice and saw Aang trying to sneak Appa.

"Let's go Appa! Come on, boy!" Aang said, trying to pull on Appa's reins. Appa just grunted after which they faced each other

"Look, I'm sorry, but Iris, Katara, and Sokka aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us. If they got hurt, I'd never forgive myself." he then frowned, "So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!"

Aang continued to pull on Appa's reins, who continued to remain immovable. Eventually, Aang pulled so hard on the reins that he fell to the ground.

"If you want to sneak out without anyone knowing, you need to be quieter."

Aang whirled to see Iris, looking amused, arms and ankle crossed leaning against a house

"I wasn't trying to sneak." Aang quickly said

"Don't try, kid. I heard everything." she chuckled

"Oh,"

"Katara and Sokka would hate if we left them behind. We are a team. and there's no 'I' in a team."

Aang looked at her

"and if you thought you could leave me behind and head to Fire Nation territory, kid, you are very much mistaken," she replied

"I don't want you guys to get hurt,"

"We'll be fine," she shrugged "Let's get Katara and Sokka and go see what Roku wants to talk about."

Katara and Sokka hesitated a little but agreed rather quickly. They quickly packed their things, just as Iris changed into her regular clothes.

Momo jumped into Aang's arms, chittering happily as Neva settled on her regular perch. All of a sudden, Appa licked Sokka, head to toe, making him grimace and others laugh as they climbed onto Appa

"It's a long journey to Crescent Island." The village chief said and handed Aang a parcel "You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown. Good luck."

"Thank you, for your..."

But the chief cut him off with a sharp "Go!"

Appa took off instantly. Soon they were flying over the ocean

"Come on, boy! We've got a long way to go! Faster!" Aang urged

A few minutes later, he looked over his shoulder "Hey, Iris?"

"Yeah kid?" she hummed, cleaning her metal fans

"Roku told me one more thing when I was in the spirit world."

"Must be important if you are telling it to me now," she replied

"Yeah, well he said he wanted to talk to you too."

Iris stopped and looked at him

"Roku wants to talk to me?" she asked

Aang nodded, "He didn't say anything else. Just that- 'Bring the last energybender with you'."

Iris frowned

"What do you think it is about?" Sokka asked

"I don't know. But we are going to find out soon," she replied

"Guys, we got trouble," Katara spoke up

Everyone looked at the direction Katara was pointing and there it was- a single fire nation ship. Which meant one thing-Zuko.

"Yeah, and it's gaining fast!" Sokka added

Iris looked at Aang

"Get us higher than the clouds," she said

"We can't fly all the way like that," Aang responded

"Just do it!" Iris ordered when she saw a fireball getting ready.

Aang grunted and pulled Appa's reigns, making him fly higher and them to disappear within the clouds, also dodging the fireball. The rest of them held onto the saddle at the sheer force of air against them. Once they were above clouds, Iris wheezed. Oxygen was low. Aang was right. She grunted and stood up and quickly cast a disillusionment charm over them. Once she was done, she looked down. No more fireballs

"We are good. We can fly lower now," she said

"What did you do?" Sokka asked

"Disillusionment charm." she replied, sitting down "Camouflaging spell," she replied

"They can't see us now?" Katara asked

"Nope. Not until I remove the charm. We won't have any more problems rest of the way."

And they didn't. They saw a fire navy blockade, but neither they nor Zuko seemed to see them.

Iris frowned when she realized that Zuko hadn't turned away, rather he made through the blockade. So either he knew about this winter solstice thing or he wasn't giving up that easily.

"We made it!" Aang cheered, punching the air, once they crossed the blockade

"Well, we can add it to our achievements," Iris chuckled, "We made it to Fire Nation without being burned to toast."

Sokka and Katara still seemed amazed and shocked

"We got into the Fire Nation..." Sokka said in pure disbelief and then his shoulders slumped "Great..."

Aang pointed at the temple on top of the island, his eyes sparkling with recognition

"There it is! The island Roku's dragon took me to!"

A crescent-shaped island appeared. In the center of the crescent was a large, active volcano. Fire and steam belched forth from its cone. On top of the island was the only structure- a temple, which was situated directly below the volcano. Appa flew towards the island and landed near the temple.

Aang patted Appa's face lovingly.

"You did it, buddy. Nice flying."

Appa groaned and rolled onto his side in pure exhaustion. Katara walked towards Appa and began to rub his tummy. Iris stretched her limbs and then went to Appa, petting under his chin

"Oh! You must be tired!" Katara cooed

"No." Sokka replied, "I'm good. Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders."

Katara turned towards Sokka with a wry look on her face "I was talking to Appa."

Sokka stopped mid jog "Well, I was talking to Momo."

Iris chuckled, rolling her eyes then walked to Aang

"Ready for it, kid?"

Aang took a deep breath, then looked at her and nodded

Iris led the four of them up a visible path. She had asked Neva to stay behind with Appa.

They approached the Fire temple. She looked around and indicated them. They crouched behind a low wall in front of the temple. Iris reached to touch the floor and a did Homenum Revelio and used it to feel the energy of people in the temple

"I don't see any guards," Sokka said

"The Fire Nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died," Katara replied

"Its almost sundown. We'd better hurry." Aang added

Iris opened her eyes and looked at them "Six people. They give out similar energies. So I'd guess they are priests or something like that."

Aang nodded. Iris looked over the wall and in a quick moment, leaped over it. She waited as the other three followed. The four of them made their way through the temple, tiptoeing and sprinting whenever necessary

They pressed against the wall and Iris peeked. Nothing

She turned to face others

"Clear," she said. They nodded and turned to walk out only to freeze midstep

In front of them stood 5 elderly men in red robes. One of them stepped forward

"We are the Fire Sages. Guardians of the temple of the Avatar."

"Great! I am the Avatar." Aang declared

"We know." the Fire Sage replied and then took a firebending stance, as they all took a step back

"I don't think they are happy to see you, kid," Iris muttered

The Fire Sage shot a fireball at them. The four of them ducked and turned and sprinted off. Iris really hoped one visit to the temple would be simple, but no, the universe had to make everything difficult for them.

Running through the temple, fireballs being shot at them, Iris was not only hating it but regretted this decision. At once, Aang stopped running and deflected the fireballs with a strong gust of wind

Iris stopped and looked at them

"Go! I'll hold them. I'll find you."

The three nodded and ran off

The five sages stopped in front of her

"You seem Fire Nation, young lady. Is helping the Avatar worth being a traitor to your nation?" a fire sage asked

Iris frowned, looked down at her maroon and black outfit, quickly pulled her fans and did a _Ventus_ , providing the wind more energy and using the fans to direct them

"I'm not Fire Nation. And even if I was, yes, it is worth betraying" she did a _Carpe Retractum_ , boosting it way more than it should be and pulled the floor to the ceiling, blocking them

Once satisfied, she turned and ran towards the other three, doing a quick _Point-me_ spell.

She found them in a corridor

"I got us some time," she huffed "How do we find where to contact Roku?" she asked

"Follow me!" Aang said

"Do you know where you're going?" Sokka asked

"Nope!" Aang replied and disappeared around the corner. Sokka, Katara, Iris, and Momo began to follow him. Suddenly, Aang came running back around the corner. A Fire Sage hard on his heels.

"Wrong way!" Aang yelped

"Come back!" the fire sage called

The four kept on racing around the corner trying to lose the fire sage. Iris was pretty tempted to repeat her trick with the floor especially when they turned into what turned out to be dead-end. With no escape, they turned to face the Fire Sage.

"I don't want to fight you. I am a friend," he said

The four took their stance should something happen

"Firebenders aren't our friends," Sokka replied

Iris eyed his every single move as he walked towards them carefully. As he approached Aang, he dropped to his knees and bowed

"I know why you're here, Avatar."

"You do?" Aang asked, relaxing his pose

"Yes." the sage replied and stood up "You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him."

"What makes you different than those who are trying to capture us?" Iris asked

"I want to help you."

"And how do we know it's not a trap?" Iris folded her arms

"Please. you have to trust me." he looked at her

Iris looked at him then back the kids then back at him and gave him a nod

He reached towards the wall and turned the light fixture, which turned out to be a lever. Behind the fixture was a small hole in the wall. He took a deep breath and shot fire through the hole. Fire framed one of the panels on the wall. The panel slid back and to the right, revealing a secret passage. A long staircase carved into the rock of the mountain disappeared into the dark below.

"This way."

The four exchanged a look

"Time is running out. Quickly!" The sage urged

The four shared a look and nod. They turned and entered the stairway. The Sage followed them into the passage and close the door behind them. The stairs led into a vast and cavernous system of tunnels. They continued to walk through the tunnels, the live magma from the volcano to their right.

"We never got your name," Iris said

"I'm Shyu" he smiled then faced Aang "Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages out of the magma."

"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked

"No. But my grandfather knew him. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place."

"Is that how you knew I was coming?"

"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes...began to glow!"

"That's when we were at the Air Temple. Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too!" Katara exclaimed

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world."

"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the other sages attack us?" Iris asked

"Things have changed. In the past, the Sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the Sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came."

Aang paused and leaned against the tunnel wall "They were waiting for me."

Sokka placed his arm around Aang's shoulders "Hey, don't feel bad. You're only a hundred years late."

Aang glared at Sokka, along with the girls

"They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozen began the war, my grandfather and the other Sages were forced to follow him." Shyu shook his head "I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other Sages."

Aang slightly bowed to Shyu, "Thank you for helping me."

"We'll follow these stairs to the sanctuary." Shyu pointed to a long deep spiral of stairs. "Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him."

The group climbed the stairs. In the end, Shyu lifted a trap door, looked around and then walked out, followed by the rest of the group

Iris did a twirl, looking around the place. It emitted the same wavelength of energy as that of the Air temple sanctuary, but something about this place was unique in its own way. And it was calling to her in a similar fashion.

She heard a gasp followed by a "NO!"

She quickly turned and looked at a shocked Shyu

"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang asked

"The sanctuary doors, they're closed," Shyu replied

"Can't you just open them with firebending? Like you opened that other door?" Katara asked

"No. Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise, the Sages must open the doors together with five simultaneous fire blasts."

"We can't afford three firebenders on our side, can we?" Iris asked, irritated as they all looked at her

"You are a firebender?" Shyu asked, "I didn't think you were."

Iris crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. She wasn't a firebender, but her _Incendio_ could be equally powerful

"At first I thought you were a firebender, your clothes suggested so, but your eyes are an alluring green. I thought you were an earthbender"

"It doesn't matter what kind of bender I'm. We need to find a way to open this door before solstice"

"Five fire blasts, huh?" Sokka suddenly said, tapping his chin. then it lit up "I think I can help you out."

* * *

Iris had to praise Sokka's genius and creativity.

"This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil-soaked twine and tada! Fake firebending!" Sokka grinned

"You are a genius" Iris chuckled

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka," Katara added

"This might actually work." Shyu nodded

Sokka stuffed the animal skin sacks into the mouths of the five lion heads guarding the door to the sanctuary and ran to a safe distance along with other four

"The Sages will hear the explosions, so as soon as they go off, you rush in," Shyu said

Katara looked at Aang and Iris "Its almost sunset. Are you ready?"

The two shared a look then looked back at Katara

"Definitely," they replied simultaneously

Shyu sent a small stream of fire past the five lion heads, igniting the twine and joined Aang and Iris behind the column. Sokka crouched and held tightly onto Katara's skirts. The small bombs went off and smoke filled the chamber. Aang and Iris approached the door and pull the handles, but in vain

"They're still locked." Aang looked at others

"It didn't work." Shyu sighed

"There has to be another way," Iris grunted, "If anyone is feeling spiritually creative, please suggest something!"

Aang just groaned, holding his head. he twirled and started hurling angry airblasts at the locks

"Why won't it open?! Aargh!"

Iris frowned and grabbed Aang, pulling him away, "Kid, stop! that's not going to help."

Aang hung his head and faced others as Iris let him go "I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing."

"We are going to get on the other side of the door one way or the other" Iris told Aang, who tiredly nodded

"I don't get it. That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen." Sokka said, inspecting the door

"Sokka! You're a genius!" Katara exclaimed

"Wait, how is Sokka genius? His plan didn't even work." Aang said

"Come on Aang, let her dream," Sokka said

"You're right. Sokka's plan didn't work...but it looks like it did." Katara pointed at the doors

"Did the definition of "genius" change in the last hundred years?" Aang asked

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's the same," Iris replied

Katara just grinned at them

* * *

They all hid behind the pillars as Shyu brought the other fire sages

"Hurry! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary." Shyu exclaimed

"How did he get in?" Another fire sage asked

"I don't know. But look at the scorch marks and down there!" Shyu replied

Iris peeked and smirked to see Momo moving along the door on the other side

"He's inside. Open the doors immediately before he contacts Avatar Roku." A fire sage said and simultaneously, they sent fireblasts towards the door. Smoke appeared and then the doors opened. Iris pulled back as a blinding light came from the sanctuary.

"It's the Avatar's lemur! He must have crawled through the pipes! We've been tricked!" a fire sage exclaimed

Iris felt something and looked to her side, just a moment to spare to deflect the approaching sword strike. She looked at Aang

"Go. I'll be there in a second"

Aang seemed he wanted to protest, but nodded and ran off.

Zuko tried to follow Aang, but Iris stopped and stood in front of him before he could move

"Not today, you are not," she said

He growled at her and lunged. She dodged, pulled her dagger and manage to match his strikes the best

"Iris!" she heard Aang

Cutting it short, she grabbed Zuko's arm, ducked from his kick, twisted his arm behind his back, swept her feet under him and pushed him to the floor and placed a _Stupefy_ on him

Huffing slightly, tucking a strand of white hair behind her hair, she ran to the door and jumped in just a few seconds before they closed

"Gotta stop cutting it close" she muttered, standing up. She tucked her dagger in her jean's waistband

"Are you okay?" Aang asked

"Yeah" she replied "Come on"

The two made it to Roku's statue

Iris eyes the entire statue and honestly, it was beautiful. They don't make statues like that anymore, do they?

"The light hits the statue and I talk to Roku. So why isn't anything happening?"

Iris looked at the reddish sunlight beam touching above Roku's left arm

"Maybe it needs to touch here" she pointed at the center of Roku's body "Patience, kid. Roku brought us this far. It wouldn't be without any reason"

So they wait. The beam moved further right and after about 10 minutes, settled on Roku's forehead. The statue's eyes began to glow and the sanctuary was filled with white smoke.

"Woah" Iris muttered, looking around before looking at Aang and the direction he was looking at

When the smoke cleared, they were standing face to face with Avatar Roku on the top of a mountain range. Avatar Roku was an old man, with flowing white hair and a white beard. Some of his hair was pulled back into a top knot held with a fire emblem pin. He wore flowy regal-looking red-gold robes. a true firebender

"It's good to see you, Aang. What took you so long?" he greeted. His voice was relieved. He then looked at her and did a small bow.

"The last energybender. It's a pleasure to meet you, My Lady"

Slightly flustered, Iris returned the bow, her face a little warm. Aang too bowed to Roku.

"I have something very important to tell you, Aang. That is why, when you were in the spirit world, I sent my dragon to find you."

"Is it about that vision? The one with the comet?" Aang asked

Iris frowned. Aang had a vision?

"Yes."

"What does it mean?"

"One hundred years ago, Fire Lord Sozen used that comet to begin the war. He and his firebending army harnessed its incredible power and dealt a deadly first strike against the other nations." Roku explained

"So the comet made them stronger?" Aang asked

"Yes. Stronger than you could even imagine."

"But that happened a hundred years ago. What does the comet have to do with the war now?"

Iris mentally groaned when the realization hit her. Roku would ask them to come to Fire Nation, talk about a certain comet that boosted firebenders for only one reason

"Because the comet's returning, isn't it?" she asked

Roku looked at her and nodded "Sozen's comet will return by the end of the summer. And Fire Lord Ozai will use its power to finish the war once and for all. If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world. Aang, you must defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives."

"But I haven't even started learning waterbending, not to mention earth and fire"

"Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice. But if the world is to survive, you must do it by summer's end."

Aang and Iris exchanged a shocked look. That was a pretty small window to learn three more elements

"What if I can't master all the elements in time? What if I fail?" Aang asked

"I know you can do it Aang, for you have done it before." Roku smiled

"Avatar Roku," Iris spoke up "I understand that you had vital information that can help Aang win. But what was I required for?"

"Since the extinction of energybenders, the world hasn't been the same. No one had been able to know what really happened to them. As the last energybender, it becomes your solemn duty to revive your clan to restore the balance. Energybenders have always been allied to the Avatars. Aang would need your help. Sozen's comet will strengthen the firebenders. Aang needs to be of at least the same level of power, if not more. And the only person who can guide him through this is you." he smiled tightly,

"I know of your past. You are favored by the spirits of this world and the Gods of yours. You are chosen and you are aware of that. What you are not aware of is your true potential. You weren't sent here by mere coincidence when you decided to walk across the realms. Your true power, wisdom, and experience would play a huge role in this war and would be vital to winning. You too need to master your element before the end of summer"

He then faced them both

"The solstice is ending. We must go our separate ways...for now."

"But I won't be able to come back to the temple. What if I have questions? How will I talk to you?" Aang asked

"I am a part of you. When you need to talk to me again, you will find a way. Together." Roku closed his eyes and something flashed in front of Iris's eyes- a fire navy ship

"A great danger awaits you at the temple."

The vision dissolved and Iris blinked back the white spots

"I can help you face the threat." he said, "But only if you are ready."

Iris looked at Aang, who entered the Avatar State

"I would require your assistance."

Iris looked at Roku, looking at her. Iris nodded strongly and she felt a sudden rush of energy. Something she had never felt before in her life. It felt like she was supercharged or something.

"I'm ready" she heard Aang's voice echo and she knew what to do

* * *

Katara, Sokka, and Shyu were scared. Zhao and his men were outside the door waiting for them to open so they could capture Aang and Iris. Zuko was already captured, tied to an opposite pillar

Suddenly a blinding white light came from inside the sanctuary causing them to close their eyes and look away

The lights dimmed and they look back as the doors began to open, smoke starting to fill in

"No! Iris! Aang!" Katara called, worried

"Fire!" Zhao ordered and shot a fire blast into the sanctuary, followed by his soldiers.

But instead of entering the sanctuary, they were manipulated into a gigantic ball of swirling fire. The fire swirl's size reduced until it was almost nothing. The smoke parted and Katara and Sokka's eyes widened. Iris was standing there, eyes glowing brightly. Unlike Aang's pure white glow, her eyes were glowing white with her green irises brighter than anything she had seen. And in between her palms was a small sphere, swirling in red, orange, yellow, and white.

"Unbelievable" Shyu muttered

And then an old man in firebending robes appeared behind her, eyes glowing.

"Avatar Roku!" Shyu whispered

Roku drew his hands back towards himself and then shot them with enormous gouts of fire, knocking Zhao and his soldiers to the soldiers. The heat from that melted their chains, further breaching the temple walls.

Suddenly Iris slammed her hands on the floor and the entire temple shook, rocking them all off their feet.

"Avatar Roku and Iris are going to destroy the temple! We have to get out of here!" Shyu exclaimed

"Not without them!" Katara replied

Roku raised his arms and Iris mirrored his stances.

Molten lava rose to the surface. They moved their arms further and a wall of magma shot up through the entire temple structure. The lava exploded out of the very top of the temple.

Sokka and Katara crouched behind a column for protection. Roku and Iris lowered their hands.

Just as suddenly, the smoke was sucked back into the sanctuary, shrouding them both. As the smoke swirled and dissipated, Aang was standing in the entryway to the sanctuary, right behind Iris. Aang's eyes were still glowing, while Iris's were back to normal. Her eyes suddenly rolled back and she collapsed on the ground. Aang closed his eyes, groaned, and then fell on the floor, awake and tired. Katara and Sokka ran to their side.

"We got your back," Sokka said, holding Iris

"Thanks. Where's Shyu?" Aang tiredly asked

"I don't know," Katara replied

Sokka reached and picked Iris in his arms as Katara helped Aang. They approached the stairs but the lava began climbing up the stairs. A certain column crashed to the floor behind them. The three gasped and ran towards the hole in the temple created by the blast

To their relief, Neva, Appa, and Momo appeared, flying full speed towards the temple. The three slid down onto Appa's back. Appa flew off just as the temple sunk further before it exploded.

* * *

They flew in silence for quite some time

Sokka looked down at the still unconscious girl in Aang's lap. He had held her since he felt fine after the incident at the temple

"How long before she wakes up?" Sokka asked

"I don't know" Aang tiredly said, his head hanging down. He spared one look at Iris. Her eyes were closed, lips shut and her serene white hair laying freely.

Katara got up, walked to him, and sat next to him, putting an arm around his shoulder and resting another on Iris' stomach. Sokka followed his sister's lead, hugging them from the other side. Neva flew in and perched on Iris' stomach, spreading her wings on Katara and Sokka's arm on Iris. Momo chittered and rested directly in front of Aang

Aang relaxed

"I'd love to wake up like this every day, but it's a little crowded"

Everyone looked down at the energybender, who was grazing at all of them, tiredly

Aang chuckled nervously

"Love the moment. But what did I miss?"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, who supported the story so far. 
> 
> There's another thing I wanted to share. Some stuff happened and certain reviews/comments were made regarding my writing style/content/ writing in general, and I've been feeling some severe anxiety for the past few days and I had started doubting my ability to write. I actually finished this chapter about 2 days ago but the anxiety kept me from posting it. My amazing friend was the one to comfort me and help me with it. And I actually thank all of you for your amazing reviews that kept me going so far.
> 
> Thanks a ton.
> 
> PS- I hadn't planned on giving Iris a romantic partner since it's too early to tell (story-wise). So if you guys got any suggestions, do let me know.


	8. Pirates, Thugs and Liars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter, so buckle up!

Iris was holding her temples, absentmindedly petting Neva. Her eyes were on the text but her mind was on what Roku had told her. She had to help Aang. That sounded awful like she had to train him. How was she going to train Aang in a matter of months? On top of learning three more elements. And what exactly was she supposed to teach him? She didn't suppose it was energybending since Avatars were not supposed to learn that.

And how did Roku know of her past? She had only told about her past to the other three. Maybe it had something to do with Aang's connection to his previous avatars. And what the fuck did he mean she was favored by Gods and Spirits?

And if that wasn't enough, it was now her responsibility to revive the Energy Clan, the same thing Aang had told her. And she had no idea how to do it. Okay, well she knew how to repopulate but to bring back a culture she was never a part of? What if she messed it up? What if the revived Energy Clan would be nothing like the original Energy Clan? Also, the odds of her kids being energybenders was pretty slim if she went by the statistics provided in the books. It kind of reminded her how inbreeding in pure-blood families often produced squibs rather than magicals. After all, each generation of the Black family had a squib somewhere, as far as she knew.

She sighed. Could someone give her a solid straightforward answer for once rather than being ambiguous and super vague?

Also, she didn't remember what happened back at the temple after the energy surge Roku provided her. Sokka and Katara had told her, vividly and a little exaggerated. She could believe that she manipulated lava. At the most basic, it was manipulating geothermal energy. And with Roku next to her, it didn't sound impossible. He was a firebender first, after all. She could believe she controlled fire blasts. It was thermal energy. She could believe she caused, or helped, the temple to explode. She did it before at the rig. But her eyes glowing? It had never happened before and sounded surreal. Though she knew the siblings were not lying to her, she didn't understand a single thing. Glowing eyes, even if in a different way, was not normal. The only other person she knew whose eyes glowed while using their powers was Aang. She was an energybender, not the Avatar.

Ugh. So many questions and no answer.

"You both need to stop it!" Katara exclaimed

Iris looked at Katara, with a poker face. Aang stopped pacing and looked at her.

"What's troubling you both anyway?" Sokka asked

"It's what Avatar Roku said. I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives." Aang replied

"Somewhat" Iris deadpanned. She hadn't spoken much since they left the temple.

"Well, let's see, you've pretty much-mastered airbending, and that only took you 112 years... I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer."

Usually, Iris would have glared at Sokka for that comment, but right now she was quite pre-occupied.

"I haven't even started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole! What am I gonna do!?" Aang replied

Iris sighed. She was not really in the mood. How was she going to self-learn energybending, the oldest of all bendings?

She sighed and she realized that they were going down. She looked down to see a huge waterfall and a river. Appa landed on the bank and the four got down.

"Nice puddle," Sokka remarked

Appa swooped in overhead, grunted loudly, and dropped himself into the water. The wave it created ended up soaking Momo, Neva barely managing to escape at the last moment.

Appa rolled over and relaxed. Iris looked on top of the waterfall when she heard Aang scream in excitement,

"Yehhh! Don't start without me, boy!"

"Remember the reason we're here." Katara sternly said

Caught at the moment of running to jump in the water, Aang stopped and looked back to Katara.

"Oh right, time to practice waterbending." Aang sheepishly admitted and pulled his clothes.

Iris ran a hand through her hair. She unpacked all their supplies and placed them on the shore. She wasn't going to take risks and have their supplies flow down the river.

"I'm getting a dip," she said, picked her duffel, and walked to a little secluded part of the river. She could still hear the other three, but this gave her a little sense of privacy.

She dropped her duffel on the ground and quickly stripped to the bare minimum and got in the river. The water was a little warm, but a welcome relaxation. She did a couple of dips and then closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on the energy around her, especially water. Unlike the earth's energy, which was very stable and sturdy, the water's energy was very...fluid. And it required a rather greater concentration. But she didn't give up. She tried manipulating the energy in water. Kinetic energy was it called? She really should have paid attention to those science shows she managed to watch at the public library.

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Moving her arms, she tried collecting energy from the surroundings and use it to produce a _Lumos_. she didn't say the incantation nor did she made the wand movement. She only tried to convert the energy from the river into light energy. If everything Roku said was right, and she believed he was right, she had to master her bending to the point to be able to bend another person's energy by the end of summer all by herself.

After a lot of concentration and hard work, she managed to create a tennis ball-sized ball of light. She smiled in victory when she felt a rush of energy. She turned just in time to see a huge wave of water rush up to her before it washed over her entirely

She frowned, pushing her hair back.

"Aang!" she called just when Sokka did too

Sighing, she made her way to where they were, submerging herself into the water up till her shoulders.

"Yeh, I'll say!" Sokka said, quite angrily "You just almost practiced me down the river!"

Iris slightly rose and looked at a scowling Sokka,

"Uhhh... sorry." Aang rubbed the back of his head

Sokka sunk under the water "Ugh, it was hard enough when you were just an Airbender."

Iris looked at Aang "A little restraint and control would be nice."

Aang nodded quickly "Got it."

"Please don't make another wave that could potentially drown me," she said and went back to her original spot

She sighed and got out of the water. She did a drying spell on her body and quickly changed her undergarments. After that, she pulled another pair of black jeans(yes, she had two of them), followed by a pink short sleeve v-neck button-down blouse, over a mauve tank-top. She was tired of being mistaken for being a firebender or belonging to Fire Nation.

She finally pulled her boots and made back to the group.

"How's the training?" she asked, squeezing the water from her hair. Either she needed to start wearing it in a ponytail, or chop it off

"It was good" Aang grinned at her

"Eh...fine" Katara almost deadpanned. Iris only raised a brow. She placed her duffel with their other stuff

"You changed your clothes," Katara noticed

Iris glanced once at her clothes "Red and black kinda sent the wrong message." she replied

Katara nodded "This color looks good on you"

"Thanks" she smiled "Let's find someplace to restock"

They eventually landed on a port-village.

"We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us. Let's spend it wisely." Sokka said

"Three? Where did we spend other stuff?" Iris asked, only to meet clueless looks on the siblings

"Great," she muttered

"Uhh, make that two copper pieces, Sokka. I couldn't say no to this whistle!" Aang produced a white whistle in the shape of a bison from behind his back. Aang drew in a great breath and blew into it, but nothing came

"It doesn't even work." Sokka deadpanned

Momo chittered into Aang's ear as his master stopped blowing into it.

"See, even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk," Sokka added

Iris rolled her eyes "Maybe I should hold onto money from now on, kid"

Aang looked guiltily at her and then handed over the money.

They really couldn't buy much with two coppers. The group was just walking along the port-shore when,

"Oh! You there! I can see by your clothing that you're world-traveling types. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?"

they walked past him but Aang went back. Iris looked at him and approached him, followed by the siblings

"Sure! What are curios?" Aang asked

The man paused "I'm not entirely sure, but we got'em!"

"We need to get going, kid" Iris reminded him. This man felt weird to her, energy-wise. It was like warning bells were going off around her. Uh, this was a first.

Aang looked at her "It wouldn't hurt to take a look, would it?" and then brought forward his puppy-dog eyes.

Iris rolled her eyes again "I suppose it won't," she then looked at the man, "But we aren't buying anything."

The man just smiled, grabbed Aang by his shoulders, and led them to his ship. The four entered, looking around at the stuff.

Something caught Iris' eye. She approached it. It was a necklace, somewhat familiar. The metal looked something like white gold or platinum. The pendant itself had an intricate circular design with colorful stones. The ones on the top and bottom were similar to the metal. The other four were in red, blue, green, and light yellow. The one stone in the middle was a beautiful white.

She reached and touched the necklace.

Whoa. She could have sworn the stone glowed for a millisecond when she touched them. Now, where had she seen it before?

"I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur. That beast would fetch me a hefty sum if you'd be interested in bartering."

Iris looked over her shoulder at the man who spoke. He wore a wide brim hat and had a huge green parrot-like creature on his shoulder, which screamed several times

"Momo's not for sale," Aang replied, hugging Momo closely

The man's eyes landed on her and he grinned, approaching her

"Interested in the necklace?"

"I'm not really a jewelry person. But could you tell me something about it?"

"It is said to one of the rare relics of the Energy Clan"

Her eyes widened.

"Of course, since their extinction centuries ago, not many people are even aware of them."

"Energy clan, you say" she muttered back "I don't suppose you have a buyer for it?"

"I do." he chuckled "But I'd be willing to sell it to you for...150 gold coins"

Nope. Not going to happen

"Yeah, you keep the necklace and sell it to your buyer." she backed off

"You are not interested?"

"Nope. Like I told you, I'm not a jewelry person"

She turned just as Neva flew in and settled on her shoulder. She chirped and trilled, letting her know that Appa was done with the rest and they could move on.

"Your bird is gorgeous. Would you be interested in a trade? The bird for the necklace"

Iris rolled her eyes and faced the man with a frown "My bird is my business. No, I'm not interested in trade. Keep the necklace."

"Where did you get a waterbending scroll?"

The man and she looked at Aang and Katara who held a waterbending scroll

The man marched to them and slammed down on the scroll, snatched it, and rolled it up.

"Let's just say I got it up north at a most reasonable price. Free!" the man grinned

Iris frowned and approached Aang and Katara,

"We are done looking around. We should go"

Katara looked at her as if she wanted to say something, but Iris glared at her, gesturing her to shut up.

"Waaait a minute..." Sokka spoke up "sea-loving traders...with suspiciously acquired merchandise...and pet reptile birds...You guys are pirates!"

The man who brought them here placed an arm around Sokka's shoulders and smiled "We prefer to think of ourselves as high-risk traders."

"That's beautiful" Iris deadpanned, throwing the man's arm off Sokka. She grabbed the three,

"We are leaving" and dragged them off

* * *

Once they reached back to Appa, Katara pulled

"What was that for, Iris?" she asked

"They were pirates, Kat, meaning dangerous people."

"But that was my only chance at learning waterbending!"

"We are going to the Northern Water tribe. That is your chance of learning waterbending. Besides, the price he'd have offered would be way beyond our budget"

"I know. But I needed it" Katara scoffed and walked and climbed on Appa

Iris blinked. She knew it was going to be expensive but was still going to get it. Iris sighed with a groan and walked to Appa.

"Were you going to steal it?" she asked softly

Katara didn't reply

She sighed and climbed up Appa "You really thought you could steal it and they wouldn't notice? We already have the entire Fire Nation after us. Do you really want to add Pirates to this mess we are in?"

Katara looked at her from the corner of her eyes but didn't say anything

"It was a bad idea, Kat," Iris said then looked back at the boys "Are you gonna stand here the whole time?"

Aang and Sokka blinked and got up Appa. She climbed down to hold Appa's reins

"Appa, yip-yip" she called and he took off

* * *

The next day morning, when Iris returned from her very early morning dip (they had camped upstream the river; she found early morning dips rather refreshing), she saw Katara awake and sitting on a rock, looking at the sky. Her sleeping bag was neatly folded and packed.

Slightly worried, Katara was never one to wake up early, she dropped her duffel near Appa and walked to Katara.

"Couldn't sleep?" she softly asked, sitting next to her.

Katara just pulled her knees closer and said nothing. Iris didn't say anything either. Katara always opened up, but at her own pace.

This time, it took her 10 minutes.

"It was a bad idea," Katara said.

"I'm glad you get it" Iris smiled at her.

"And I'm sorry I got mad at you yesterday when you were just trying to protect me...us. It would have been bad if Pirates had started chasing us too"

Iris reached and placed her hand over Katara's and gave it a very comforting squeeze.

"You were frustrated and I get it. I've had my fair share of teenage blow-ups too"

"You are still a teenager" Katara giggled

Iris rolled her eyes "Not for soon, thankfully. Give it a few months, I'll be 20 and well into young adulthood." then she scrunched her face "That doesn't sound much better either, actually."

Katara giggled again. She looked ahead where the sun had started to rise beyond the horizon behind the trees.

"Hey, Iris?"

"Hmm?"

"If and when this war would be over, would you go back?" Katara asked in quite a meek voice.

Iris looked at her a bit puzzled, "Go back where? Village?"

Katara bit her lip, "Back to your world" Katara paused "You said that before you decided to leave, your friend told you that you could return whenever you want to. And the war in your previous world made you leave." She looked at her finally, "Will this war make you go back?"

Iris felt a pang of pain in her chest. Sure she was very much intentioned on returning, mostly because she wanted to see her darling godson, about whom she hadn't told the three. But in the last year living at Southern Water Tribe, had given her some friends she'd like to keep her whole life. And Katara had raised quite a personal question.

"You don't want me to leave?" Iris asked

Katara looked at her and shook her head. Her one hand went for her choker necklace. Iris knew the importance of that necklace. It originally belonged to Gran-Gran, who gave it to Kya-Katara and Sokka's mother, who passed it to Katara.

"After mom died, I kind of became responsible for our little family." she began softly, "I wanted to help dad and Sokka as much as I could. Gran-Gran taught me how to. Then after dad left for war, the tribe's responsibility was mine and Sokka's"

Iris knew all that. Gran-Gran had told her everything. But for how long she had known the siblings, neither of them ever talked much of their mother. But Iris could see that Katara was trying to fill her mother's shoe in the family and tribe. And those were pretty big shoes.

"When you came around, I don't know if you realized it or not, you took the majority of the responsibility from me and Sokka regarding the tribe and our small family." she paused again, choosing her words, "You tried to make sure we felt like children again. And you became a very important part of all our lives. Mine, Sokka, and now Aang's too."

Iris softly smiled. Of course, she made sure they all felt like they were children, Holy Merlin, they were children! Sokka tried to act mature because of all the responsibility that fell on his young shoulders, but he was still a child at 15. Katara tried to act all serious and strict, often succeeding, but she was still 14. Aang, well what could she say about him. He was a pure child, inside out. There was a reason she called him 'kid'.

"I don't think I can lose you. Not like I lost mom." Katara looked at her, her eyes glassy, "When you told us your war story and how you expected us to hate you for what you did and because you left..." she sniffed, "I realized that you could leave when this war would end. And that scared me. And I took it all on you, by yelling. Iris, I don't want to lose you."

Iris finally broke her stupor and gathered the young girl in her arms. She blinked her own tears back.

"I said this the other day and I'll say it again. I will not leave unless you'd ask me to."

Iris closed her eyes and took a deep breath,

"When I first came to the village, you told me that you guys would be my family. And family means a lot to me." she softly stroked Katara's head "I'll be always here for you. I did make that promise" she chuckled, "You will not lose me, little penguin"

Katara chuckled into her shirt.

"I had no idea you thought of me like that," she whispered

"It was Sokka who pointed it at first, actually," Katara admitted and pulled, wiping her tears away.

"Huh, so you both are in it together," Iris asked, poking Katara's side, which made her squeak and giggle.

"Well, you are the only one who could not only find Sokka's socks but also wash them. They stink" Katara smiled

Iris scrunched her face "They do stink"

And then they broke laughing

"Could you girls keep it quiet?!"

They both looked over their shoulder to see Sokka, lazily raising his head and sleepily glaring at them.

They both looked at each other and haughtily snorted

"Nope!" and the burst into laughter.

Though Iris did manage to hear Sokka muttering, "Girls. They are born crazy."

* * *

_A week later,_

Iris packed whatever stuff they had and handed it to Katara who was settled on top of Appa when the boys returned.

"What took you two so long?" Katara asked

"We freed some hog-monkeys and Momo that got trapped in traps" Aang replied, jumping to sit on Appa's head

"Fire nation traps" Sokka added

"Which would mean some Fire Nation troop must be nearby," Iris muttered, fastening her pace

Aang was adjusting his reins when Sokka stopped him

"Ah-ah...no flying this time."

"What?" Katara asked

"Why wouldn't we fly?" Aang asked

"Think about it. Somehow Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa—he's just too noticeable."

"What! Appa's not too noticeable!" Katara defended

"He's a gigantic fluffy monster with an arrow on his head—it's kinda hard to miss him!" Sokka pointed

Appa turned his head and groaned at Sokka.

Aang just reached to Appa gently "Sokka's just jealous 'cause he doesn't have an arrow."

"I'm pretty sure all of us are noticeable." Iris added, "Think about it, two water tribe kids, traveling with the only Airbender left in the world, who also happens to be the Avatar, and me, a girl with white hair. We are noticeable. But," she looked at Sokka "We haven't had issues with Zuko ever since the crescent island. Flying is actually a safer option"

Sokka glared at her. She was the one who usually took his side.

"I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk."

"Who made you the boss?" Katara demanded

"I'm not the boss—I'm the leader." Sokka replied. Iris raised her brow. That was some confidence, she wished she had when she was 15.

"You're the leader? But your voice still cracks!" Katara incredulously replied

"I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior." Sokka said and deepened his voice "So...I'm the leader!"

"If anyone's the leader, it's Aang. I mean, he is the Avatar." Katara said

"Are you kidding—he's just a goofy kid!" Sokka said, pointing at Aang, dangling from Appa's horn: upside-down by his hands with his legs sticking out into space. Appa looked rather unimpressed.

"He's right." Aang agreed and got down "I think if anyone's the leader, it's Iris. I mean she's the oldest and has saved our butts on many occasions"

The siblings looked at and then at her. Iris was just looking at them in amusement

"Finally realized that there's a fourth member to the team?" she raised a brow

"I didn't mean what I said," Sokka replied

"I'm not offended, just amused" she chuckled "but please continue, it was entertaining"

Sokka flushed with embarrassment while it was all the nudge Katara needed.

"Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader?" she muttered then looked at Sokka "I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl."

"I-I've kissed a girl—you...just haven't met her." Sokka defended himself. Iris mentally laughed. They were adorable

"Who? Gran-gran? I've met Gran-gran." Katara replied "I've also met Iris"

"No—besides Gran-gran and Iris." Sokka frowned "And what about her?"

Iris raised a brow "What about me?"

"You are bossy. and you haven't kissed a guy, have you?"

Iris chuckled "Sokka, did you actually forget what happened with Haru?" she laughed when a horrified look crossed over Sokka

"Besides" she ran her hand through her hair, "I'm 19. I've had a fair share of serious relationships so far. So kissing, that's the least I've done"

By the end of it, Sokka looked more horrified than ever. Katara was barely holding her laughter. Aang, slightly blushing, was also holding onto his laugh on Sokka's expense

Sokka just shook it off and looked at them all "Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot and a leader has to trust his instincts."

"He's not wrong" Iris shrugged and picked her duffel "This is the only time we do this, Sokka. And if something goes wrong, it will be on you"

Aang stepped over, now wearing a backpack. Momo was sitting on the top.

"Who knows—walking might be fun." Aang shrugged

* * *

Iris knew that the group couldn't walk for long. Unlike them, she had no issue trekking. It just reminded her of her war days, trekking through forests with Hermione and Ron. 30 minutes into walking and,

"Walking stinks! How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?" Aang whined

"I don't know Aang. Why don't you ask Sokka's instincts—they seem to know everything." Katara replied

"Haha. Very funny." Sokka deadpanned

"I'm tired of carrying this pack," Aang complained again

Iris knew it won't be long before Sokka would snap

"You know who you should ask to carry it for a while? Sokka's Instincts!"

"That's a great idea! Hey, Sokka's Instincts, would you mind—"

"Okay, okay—I get it." he turned and faced them "Look, guys, I'm tired too. But the important thing is that-" Sokka pushed the branches from two rust red-leafed bushes and held them, focussing his attention on them, "-we're safe from...the—" he finally turns around to see what's beyond the bushes. "Fire...Nation..."

Iris stopped dead on her feet so did others. They had just walked into a clearing with a Fire Nation encampment in it. On the opposite end of the clearing were three Pavilion tents, and an active fire pit with logs and benches on two sides. The worst part, the camp was entirely occupied. Hearing the commotion, the soldiers looked at them. They stared into each other went for a moment before,

"RUN!" Sokka screamed. Iris and others just dropped their bags ad scrambled. She had no idea how Neva missed this camp. She'd talk to her familiar later

A one-eyed soldier took a bender's stance and launches a fist-full of fire at them. The fire missed them—mostly—but set the bushes behind them alight.

"We're cut off!" Sokka exclaimed

"Yeah no shit, Sherlock" Iris grunted

"Sokka, your shirt!" Aang exclaimed

Iris looked at Sokka, whose tunic had caught fire. And then Katara drenched him in water from her skin container.

The four were surrounded: the burning bushes behind them, the soldiers all around. They put their backs together and faced the warriors, ready to fight if necessary.

"If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you," Sokka said, his voice cracking a little

"What are you doing?" Katara asked

"Bluffing?" Sokka provided

"That ain't gonna work" Iris replied and pulled out her fans, flaring them.

"You? Promise not to hurt us?" The one-eyed soldier asked

"Try us, Pirate-Reject" she replied

He growled and threw in a fire blast, which she deflected with her fans. Suddenly there was a thud. The Pirate-Reject looked surprised for a moment, he groaned and collapsed.

"Nice work, Sokka! How'd ya do that?" Aang asked

"It wasn't him," Iris said, "It came from above the trees"

"Look!" Katara pointed at somewhere above. A boy dropped and drew two blades from the middle of his back. He stepped off the back of the branch, his weapons held high. Instead of falling straight down, he hooked his weapons on the branch, allowing him to sling in the direction of the camp. The boy kicked over two of the soldiers farthest from the four, landed with a foot on each of their backs. Following him, more kids made appearance in the fight.

Iris frowned, relaxing her stance. Her fans were still flared. She was confused, really. Who were these kids? Yes, they were kids; they couldn't be older than Sokka. Though the first one did seem to have a talent with those hooked swords. In fact, they all seemed like they knew what they were doing. The fight, if it can be called so, lasted for about 10 minutes vigorously before all fire nation soldiers were beaten.

The boy approached Katara and said in a very nonchalant voice, "Hey."

"Hi." Katara blushed a little

Iris looked at the exchange, raised a brow then looked back at the camp. They were good.

"You just took out a whole army almost single-handed!" Aang said in awe

"Army? Pfft. There were only, like, twenty guys!" Sokka huffed

"My name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters." and Jet went to introduce his team

Aang approached the duo, Pipsqueak and Duke were they? and said something after which they all started laughing

Iris raised a brow when the 'Freedom Fighters' started checking whatever things and weapons they could salvage. Jet was leaning against a tree quite nonchalantly only for Katara to approach him

"Um...thanks for saving us Jet. We were lucky you were there."

"I should be thanking you. We were waiting to ambush those soldiers all morning—we just needed the right distraction. And then you guys stumbled in."

"We were relying on instincts," Katara replied

"You'll get yourself killed doing that." Jet replied

Iris saw as Sokka, who heard everything, closed his eyes in frustration and walked towards her. He stood next to her and crossed his arm

"Hey," she looked at him and crouched, "I don't blame you. Any one of us could have done this mistake. Don't be so hard on yourself"

"But if I had been a better leader, this wouldn't have happened" Sokka angrily muttered

Iris reached and cupped the side of his face, "Being a leader doesn't mean you won't make mistakes. Everyone makes them, leader or follower. You will be a great leader, as long as you learn from your mistakes"

"You really think so?"

Iris chuckled, "I know so"

Their attention was grabbed by The Duke(?)

"Hey Jet—these barrels are filled with blasting jelly," he called

"That's a great score."

Iris stood up with a frown before she looked at Sokka

"What would they need blasting jelly for?" she muttered

"Beats me." Sokka shrugged

"And these boxes are filled with jelly candy!" Pipsqueak said

"Also good. Let's not get those mixed up."

The group of fighters started loading things in their wagon

"We'll take the stuff back to the hideout." Pipsqueak said

"You guys have a hideout?" Aang asked, awed

"You wanna see it?"

"Yes, we wanna see it!" Katara smiled so hard at Jet, it worried Iris. She knew that Katara wasn't used to being flirted to, but if this was her reaction to some random guy who wasn't even trying very hard to get to her, she needed to have a girl talk sooner than she hoped.

"What do you say?"

Iris almost jumped when Jet appeared in front of her, spoke in a broken husky tone, and looked at her through his lashes.

"You wanna see our amazing hideout?"

Iris was a little creeped out. But she looked at Katara and Aang, who were looking at her with puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine." she groaned and swung her arm around Sokka "We'll come."

On their way to whatever place it was, Iris was really creeped out. This Jet character was flirting with her and Katara. The only difference was that Katara was giving him the attention he probably survived on, while she was unaffected.

"We're here." Jet said stopping in the middle of the way

"Where...there's nothing here!" Sokka exclaimed

"Hold this." Jet handed Sokka a rope with a loop on the end, connected to somewhere above them.

"Why...what's this do?" Sokka asked

The loop ended up around Sokka's wrist. Without warning, he was pulled up by his arm into a nearby tree canopy. Jet offered a similar rope to Aang and Momo.

"I'll get up on my own," Aang replied and with an Airbender leap, reached above. Jet held a rope and offered his free hand to both of them.

"Ladies..."

"I'm good," Iris replied and picked a rope, placed the loop around her wrist, and tugged it, only to be pulled up. She landed on a wooden platform and let go of the rope.

"What exactly is special about this place?" she muttered, Neva landing on her shoulder.

Iris looked at Neva with a frown, "You missed a Fire Nation Camp this morning and we almost got caught."

Neva stopped preening and looked at her owner in surprise, chirped, followed by rubbing her head against her neck

"That will not make me forgive you"

That only made Neva try harder.

She heard a thud and turned around to look to see Katara land on the platform in Jet's arms. She wasn't liking Jet in the lightest, not when he was trying to get in with Katara

"Nice place you got!"

Iris looked at Aang, sliding down a zipline connecting the tree-houses. Jet and Katara made way towards the bridge, passing her. Iris followed them.

"It's beautiful up here!" Katara said

"It's beautiful...and more importantly the Fire Nation can't find us." Jet smirked at her

Smellerbee landed near the trio.

"They would love to find you. Wouldn't they, Jet?" he chuckled

"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee."

Iris frowned, "Why would Fire Nation wanna find you?"

Jet looked at her, with what she guessed was his charming look. "I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble. See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back."

He started walking, Katara and Smellerbee following them. Because Katara was like her little sister and her responsibility and she wouldn't let her get hurt by a forest savage, she followed them.

"We've been ambushin' their troops, cutting off their supply lines, and doing anything we can to mess with 'em." Pipsqueak said, suddenly appearing

Iris shared a look with Sokka, behind Pipsqueak,

"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town." Jet said

"That's so brave." Katara cooed

"Yeah. That's so noble and brave. But how exactly are you planning on doing that?" Iris asked

"Stick around and find out..." he gave her a crooked smile then paused "I never got your name"

Iris just turned around and walked back, "Lemme know if you guys are planning on staying overnight or something" she called over her shoulder

"What's her problem?" Jet asked

Sokka looked between his sister and Iris before he ran to follow her.

He found her sitting on a deck, petting Neva,

"Are you okay?" he asked and sat next to her

"I don't like a bit here" she replied "Energy's a bit off"

"Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a treehouse," he muttered, which made her laugh

After a pregnant silence, Sokka spoke up again

"Did you really mean it?"

"Hmm?" she asked

"What you said earlier. About being a leader"

Iris looked at him and smiled "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it"

Sokka grinned her at her and hugged her, making her laugh again.

"You are the best!"

"I know that" she smiled

"This is so cool!" Aang yelped flying down another zipline

"He's gonna get hurt eventually," Iris muttered

"Yup"

* * *

Iris and Sokka spent the rest of their evening there, just chatting. After dark had started to descend, they were called since the dinner was ready.

The two made their way, led by The Duke. Ropes with Glowing lanterns hung between branches. Sentries were keeping watch on several upper platforms while everyone else was at a banquet table on a huge platform.

Iris put on her plastic facade, usually reserved for Daily Prophet reporters, and settled next to Katara, Sokka beside her. They had just started eating when Jet stood up and climbed onto the table,

"Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine."

His group cheered. Katara and Aang smiled, Sokka looked grumpy, Iris was indifferent and the only person who was still eating. Between food and some narcissistic jerk, food was definitely her choice.

"I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face when the Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey."

Another round of cheer. Sokka noticed her and decided to follow her lead. He too dug into the food and paid minimal attention to Jet.

"Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees. Maybe they're right."

Followed by some booing with made Iris roll her eyes.

"Or maybe...they are dead wrong."

Followed by another loud cheer. He left the table and sat on the platform between Iris and Katara, which made her roll her eyes again,

"Hey Jet, nice speech." Katara praised

"Thanks. By the way, I was really impressed with you and Aang. That was some great bending I saw out there today." Jet said and looked at Iris, "You looked very experienced with those fans. Where did you learn that?"

"Kyoshi Warriors" she deadpanned, eating some more,

"Well, he's great." Katara spoke up, grabbing his attention "He's the Avatar. I could use some more training."

Iris raised a brow when Katara blushed.

"Avatar huh? Very nice." Jet smirked

"Thanks, Jet." Aang smiled

"So I might know a way that you and Aang can help in our struggle."

"Unfortunately we have to leave tonight." Sokka suddenly spoke. He tried to stand up but Iris placed a hand on his leg, stopping him.

"Sokka, you're kidding me! I needed you on an important mission tomorrow." Jet spoke

'Mission' was one of Sokka's trigger words and Iris knew that. Before he could give in, she spoke up,

"We have to leave. Maybe not tonight, we could use some rest. But tomorrow afternoon. We have a deadline, Jet. I hope you'd understand" Iris smiled, a little flirtatiously

"O-Of course" Jet cleared his throat, his cheeks slightly warm. She spared a look at Katara and Aang and raised a brow. Katara rolled her eyes but didn't object. Aang just nodded.

* * *

Next day, Iris was sitting in the tent they were offered, reading her book when Katara entered, followed by Aang,

"Why don't you like Jet?"

"Hello, Katara. Hope you had a very good morning. Please take a seat so we can talk." she deadpanned not looking from her book

Aang giggled, but shut up when Katara shot him a look. They both sat down.

"Did Sokka say something to you?" she asked

"Nope," Iris looked at them "I just don't like it here."

"You have just met them."

"Katara, I know why you like it here. And I'm not objecting that. All I'm saying is that who knows how long these people are wreaking havoc in these forests and sabotaging stuff. And the amount of blasting jelly they took for themselves, what are they planning on doing with it?"

"You think Jet is going to hurt someone?" Aang asked

"I don't know. But either way, I don't wanna be a part of it, if and when that happens. I don't want you guys to be a part of it, either."

"Jet is a fraud, a bully, and a thug."

The three looked at Sokka, who just entered, looking extremely mad and angry.

"What?" Katara asked

Sokka faced her, "Your boyfriend, Jet, is a thug, bully, and fraud."

"What? No, he's not." Katara defended

"He's messed up Katara," Sokka replied

"He's not messed up, he's just got a different way of life—a really fun way of life," Aang added his two cents

"I'd hardly call living in secret treehouses and ambushing Fire Nation troops as a fun way of life, kid" Iris replied

"He beat and robbed a harmless old man!"

"Wait, what?" Iris raised a brow "For no reason?" she frowned

Sokka told them everything and then sighed, "The old man was a harmless Fire Nation civilian."

Katara frowned "He was Fire Nation. Maybe he was trouble."

"Kat, Shyu was Fire Nation. He helped us. Fire Nation doesn't mean evil. And Jet had no right attacking an old man, Fire Nation or not, for no reason"

"I wanna hear Jet's side of the story." Katara declared and got up to leave, followed by Aang.

Iris looked Sokka, who was looking at the other two.

"Come on" Iris urged and got up, followed them to Jet.

They found him pretty quick and Katara voiced herself,

"Sokka—you told them what happened but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?"

"Yes, he did," Iris replied, crossing her own arms. She could have sworn a flash of panic crossed over Jet before he regained his composure.

"He was a harmless civilian" Sokka added

"He was an assassin, Sokka." Jet pulled out a knife and thrust it into a nearby block of wood. "See? There's a compartment for poison in the knife." He pulled on the ring and removed a small glass tube filled with red liquid "He was sent to eliminate me—you helped save my life, Sokka."

"I knew there was an explanation" Katara exclaimed

"Let's not rush it," Iris said calmly. If this was how Jet wanted to play to get their trust, well, she could play dirtier to protect those she loved. She vaguely noticed the audience they were gathering, which only made things better.

"And how did he know where to find you, Jet?" she asked

"What do you mean?"

"You told us yesterday that no one knows of your hideout. When Fire Nation troops couldn't find you, how do you expect us to believe that an old man managed it? An old man?! How did he know you were the leader of these Freedom fighters?" she asked and picked the knife "Where on that old man did you find it, Jet?"

"Concealed under his robes" Jet answered, a tinge of panic she managed to notice.

She looked at Sokka "Were you there when the old man was ripped off of his things?"

"Yeah."

"What exactly happened?"

"They attacked the man, threw him to the ground, stole his satchel, and left. I was the last to leave."

Iris looked at Jet, "When exactly did you have time to search that man, Jet?" she smirked mentally, "Also, you claimed he was an assassin. Trust me, I've seen a few assassins in my life. And if he was there to kill you, you wouldn't be here right now. Even with your freedom fighters watching your back," she chuckled and tossed the knife back to Jet "Sokka's right. You are nothing but a bully, fraud, and a thug. And a liar"

She looked at the three of them, "We leave this afternoon" and left to pack.

* * *

She looked at Neva, busy eating then went back to packing. She tsked, packing her stuff when Smellerbee rushed in.

"Jet's hurt! I need your help!"

Iris looked at her,

"Where are others?" she asked

"I don't know. I can't find them. Please. You've gotta help."

Iris rolled her eyes and got up. Damn her 'People saving' thing.

Smellerbee led her to a field. Iris followed in. But she couldn't find him. She turned around but Smellerbee was no longer there

"Weird," she muttered. They were supposed to leave in about 2 hours. But she also couldn't leave a hurt Jet behind. She was icy but she wasn't amoral.

"Jet!" she called but heard nothing. It was pin-drop silent

"Okay, this just turned from weird to creepy" she crouched and closed her eyes, hand on the ground. At first, she felt nothing, and then she felt a person's energy, somewhere in the trees. She felt the person jumped down, making almost no noise and head towards her. He picked up the pace. Iris opened her eyes and pulled her dagger, just able to block the attack from Jet. She pushed him back and stood up.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked

But he didn't reply. He growled and lunged at her again. She dodged, but he hooked her legs in his sword's hook and pulled her, causing her to fall down with a grunt.

She turned and looked at Jet, standing way too close for her liking. He was frowning and she could see that he was angry.

"Jet, stop this nonsense!" she called. She tried looking for her dagger, but it was a few feet away. Fuck. She heard the wind whoosh and pulled her metal fans, blocking another for Jet's attack.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she demanded

He struck again. Iris kicked on his shin and swiped her other leg under him, causing him to fall down. She used that time to stand up

"What do you think you're doing?"

"You are ruining everything!" he growled and lunged at her again. She blocked him from time to time. She was really trying not to hurt him, but Jet wasn't giving her much of a choice. She went to kick him, but he hooked her ankle on his sword again and pulled up. She lost her footing and fell.

He went to strike her again, but she rolled out of his way.

"Petrificus totalus." she heaved, aiming for Jet, who then fell on the ground, frozen. She should have done this earlier. Really, screw her trying to make a fair fight with a non-bender.

She got up and limped. Her ankle seemed to have sprained or worse, broken. She limped her way to Jet's frozen form,

"You are pathetic." she frowned, placed her fans back. She turned and walked away, picking her dagger and tucking it in her jeans' waistband, and walked away.

She barely managed to make it to the treehouse. They still had another hour before they'd have to leave, she guessed.

Her ankle was killing her and she could no longer stand. She fell on all fours, her breaths short and labored.

"Iris!" she heard Aang, who then rushed to her

"what happened? Oh my! Why are you bleeding?!"

She was bleeding? why wasn't she feeling it? Probably the adrenaline rush.

"Katara! Sokka!"

Iris winced and she felt being pulled into someone's arms and something pressed against her side.

"Aang? what ha- Iris?!"

She heard two more pairs of footsteps.

"What happened to you? Who did this?" Sokka asked, worry and anger in his voice

"Jet." she breathed, "He attacked me." she winced and tried to sit up

"Take it easy," Katara helped her, her eyes going to the spot where her pink shirt was turning red.

"He attacked you?" Sokka almost snarled

"I took care of him" she replied ad looked at Aang, "Can I get some water?"

"the nerve of that-"

Iris kept a hand on Sokka's arm "Don't. The best we can do is leave."

Sokka agreed, rather reluctantly. Aang returned with some water in a bowl, which she drank and sighed.

"I can't stop the bleeding," Katara said panicked

"Think you can form a layer of ice over it?" Iris asked "It could stop bleeding until I could heal myself"

Katara nodded, biting her lip. She had Sokka carry her to the hut they were staying at and then kicked both the boys out. She was leaning against the wall, while Katara tended to her.

"I shouldn't have trusted Jet," Katara asked, her voice barely audible. She removed Iris's shirt and lifted her tank top so she could see the wound.

Iris shrugged and then winced "It happens. Jet knew what he was doing, flirting with you to get to you and Aang" Iris looked around and spotted a beam of sunlight

"Could you open the window for me?"

Katara nodded and rushed to open it the window then back to her.

Iris blinked at the sudden sunlight on her face, but once she started feeling that warmth, she relaxed. She could feel the cold water along her waist, which was getting colder by second.

Trying to ignore that, she basked under the sun. She had never really used solar energy before, but there's a first time for everything, right?

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the warmth. Then she started collecting it, drop by drop. She winced at times when she felt a muscle pull, but she ignored them to her best capabilities. Finally absorbing the energy, she channeled it, while casting an _Episkey_ aimed at her ankle. She was pretty tired, but she kept on trying.

Slowly she felt her ankle's pain lessen until there wasn't any left. She opened her eyes and looked at the sun's directions and smiled.

"No way!"

She turned to the girl next to her and noticed her surprised expression.

"What happened, Kat?"

She looked at her injury and to her surprise, there wasn't much of it now. The bleeding had stopped and the wound had started healing on its own, at quite an accelerated speed

"Wow," she muttered. She lifted her tank top more but there wasn't much damage now. "You did it!" she grinned.

"I did that?" Katara asked

"Yeah," Iris smiled "Guess I'm not the only one with healing abilities."

Katara smiled at her.

"Guys," Aang's voice came across the screen.

"Just a second" Katara replied

"We are all packed and ready to leave"

Iris noticed the tension in his voice, "Everything okay, kid?"

"Uh...Jet's here"

Iris and Katara shared a look.

"you should see what's going on."

They shared another look.

She stood up, stumbling as Katara provided her the support. She picked her shirt, just draping it over her body, not bothering to button up and walked out.

"-danger. I'm telling you she's the enemy. She attacked me!"

Iris frowned. The two approached the crowd of Freedom Fighters who had collected there.

"There she is!" Jet pointed his finger at her "She's with the Fire Nation! She attacked me and she's corrupting the Avatar!"

Sokka and Aang were right next to her.

"Jet, don't be ridiculous." Sokka asked, "Besides, she's way more hurt than you are, which means you ambushed her!"

"She's hurt because she's weak." Jet scoffed "Because I had to defend myself"

Iris rolled her eyes, "I'm too tired for your drama."

Sokka nodded "We are leaving"

The four turned to leave, only to hear a loud whoosh. Iris and Katara turned around to see Aang with his staff out and Jet slammed into the tree.

"Trying to attack an injured person while their back is turned?" Aang demanded, frowning, "You are the weak one."

Jet growled and tried to attack them again, only for water to splash over him, freeze and plastering him to the tree.

"Why, Jet? I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me—you're sick and I trusted you!" Katara frowned, tears almost making her eyes glassy. Iris had no idea what happened but Katara just marched to Jet and punched him square on the jaw. It oddly reminded her of Hermione punching Draco.

"You are the worst." Katara snapped and returned to them

Aang called onto Appa and the four slid onto his saddle. The four glared at him before Aang pulled away.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked

"Yeah," Iris nodded "Turns out Kat, has healing abilities. She patched me up." she looked at Katara "Thank you."

"I should have trusted you and Sokka," Katara said

"How did you know Jet was wrong?" Aang asked

"It was Sokka's instincts, actually. And then my instincts told me something was wrong." she shrugged "Hey, instincts aren't always wrong."

Sokka chuckled.

"Your shirt got ruined" Katara looked at her shirt draped over her. The pink shirt did have an ugly red blotch of blood, "It was really pretty".

Iris smiled and did a quick _Scourgify_. and then she grinned at Katara "It still is."

"We never managed to find out what they planned with blasting jelly, though," Sokka said

"I may have done something" Iris innocently said, gathering the looks.

She exhaled "I may have thrown away all the blasting jelly, filled them with jelly candy, and changed the labels? By the way, Kat? That was amazing. Slightly terrifying. Most mostly amazing"

Katara started laughing, followed by others.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, thank you so so so much for everyone who supported me regarding my issue. You guys are some of the best!


	9. The Great Divide

"Take it slow, Neva!" Iris called, jogging to catch up with her familiar. Neva perched on top of a cliff, near a bush with some blueberries. Momo landed next to her, plucked a few berries, and started eating them.

"You've got to be kidding me." She muttered, looking above the cliff, which was far.

"I'll get it." Aang jumped over rocks and reached the ledge, plucked the berries and placed them in his bag. When he jumped back down, he tossed her a berry while popping one in his mouth.

"How does it taste?" she asked, eyeing the blueberry.

Aang thought for a moment, chewing on the berry, "Kinda sour. But not too sour. Like not over the top sour but pretty sour."

"Yeah," she deadpanned, and once cleaning it against her shirt, took a bite. And winced, spitting it out,

"How are you eating something so sour?!"

"It isn't that sour," Aang replied.

"I beg to differ, kid." she replied then eyed his bag, "Maybe we can mix them with the sweet ones and that might reduce the sourness." she shrugged.

"Won't hurt to try," Aang replied, "Let's go back!"

Iris shrugged and resumed walking with Aang; Momo and Neva following them overhead.

Iris felt a sudden tingle and looked down at her right hand, where her ring sat idly. She stopped to inspect it.

"Iris?"

She didn't respond. She just pulled out her ring and checked the interiors. To her surprise, the wand engraving on the ring seemed slightly brighter and sharper.

"Weird," she muttered.

"What happened?"

She looked at Aang, who was trying to look at the ring.

"I don't know," she replied, but slipped the ring back in her finger, "ring's acting a little weird."

"Do you know what it means?"

Iris shrugged.

"Maybe the one who gifted you the ring can tell about it"

Iris smiled at him, "I didn't receive it as a gift. I inherited it from my family." she looked down at her ring again, "But maybe I can try contacting him." she muttered to herself.

They made their way back to the camp,

"Okay, we got the grub if you guys got the..." Aang trailed off noticing the siblings. Iris just raised a brow.

Katara and Sokka were looking away from each other, their arms across their chests, expressions of sullen anger on their faces.

"Hey, where's the campfire? And what happened to the tent?" Aang asked.

"Kat? Sokka?" Iris prodded.

"Why don't you ask Miss Know It All? Queen of the Twigs!" Sokka exclaimed.

Katara whipped around to yell at her brother's back, "Oh yeah?" she pointed an accusatory finger, "Well you're Mister Lazy Bum, King of the" she bent down quickly, picked up a twig, and threw it at her brother, "...Tents!"

The twigs hit Sokka in the back of the head. He whipped around to face her.

"Stop fighting with each other," Iris replied, but the two were hardly reacting to her words. "Seriously guys. What's going on with you two?"

"Ask her!"/"Ask him!"

Aang chuckled and opened his arms towards them, "Okay, listen guys. Harsh words won't solve problems, action will. Why don't you just switch jobs?"

"Sounds good."/ "Whatever."

Iris and Aang shared a look and shrugged.

The two exchange their jobs but still seemed pretty mad but thankfully stopped bickering. That made Aang smile and he looked at Iris,

"You see that? Settling feuds and making peace. All in a day's work for the Avatar."

"Sure. That was a great job." Iris smiled, patting his back, which increased Aang's smile.

"Now how about you settle another feud between Appa, Neva, and Momo?" she asked, tilting her head towards the three animals.

Momo and Neva were desperately trying to remove a melon that Appa was holding upright with one of the digits of his left forepaw. Momo and Neva struggled and even tried to fly away from it, but couldn't move the melon. Neva squawked loudly at Appa, even bit his toe, but Appa wouldn't give up. Neva and Momo exchanged a look and then flew off.

Appa groaned, opening his mouth, and his tongue scooped up the melon. As he was about to close his mouth, Momo and Neva returned. Neva pushed the melon away while Momo grabbed it, and flew off.

Aang approached the two, took the melon, tossed it in the air, and sliced it in three unequal pieces. The largest piece landed in front of Appa, who ate it, and the smaller pieces, almost equal in size, landed in front of the other two, who looked at it, shared another look and chirped in protest

"Come on Momo, Neva, that's fair." Aang jabbed his thumb at Appa, "Appa's got five stomachs."

Iris chuckled, started the fire, and settled down, warming her hands.

"We only have fruits for dinner" she declared, taking out all the fruits

* * *

The next day found all four of them and their animal friends at the rim of a canyon, looking across it.

"Here it is, guys, the Great Divide." Aang declared with a grin.

"Wow! I could just stare at it forever." Katara smiled.

"Kinda reminds me of Grand Canyon back home." Iris folded her arms, taking the scenery in with a smile.

"Did you visit that place?" Aang asked.

Iris shook her head, her ponytail swishing behind her, "I had just seen some pictures"

"Okay. I've seen enough." Sokka said, sounding highly unimpressed.

Katara frowned, looking at her brother, "How can you not be fascinated, Sokka? This is the largest canyon in the entire world."

"Then I'm sure we'll be able to see it very clearly from the air while we fly away." Sokka deadpanned, tightening Appa's reins.

Suddenly a man in an ornate white robe rushed past Sokka, rudely pushing him out of his way.

"Hey! If you're looking for the Canyon Guide, I was here first!"

Iris raised a brow, "Take it easy, mate. We are here just for the view"

"Ooooo...canyon guide. Sounds informative." Katara smiled at the man.

"Believe me, he's more than a tour guide, he's an earthbender. And the only way in and out of the canyon is with his help. And he's takin' MY tribe across next!"

While the man was yammering, Sokka emerged from behind him and silently started to mock him by opening and closing his hand in the " _this guy talks too much_ " gesture.

Iris started laughing at Sokka's imitation. The man noticed her then looked behind him at Sokka, who feigned innocence and walked off towards them.

"Calm down," Sokka said, facing the man and jabbed his thumb at Iris, "like she said, we are here just for the view."

the man angrily pointed a finger at Sokka, "You wouldn't be calm if the Fire Nation destroyed YOUR home and forced YOU to flee." He gestured to the vast canyon system in front of them, "My whole tribe has to walk thousands of miles to the capital city of Ba Sing Se!"

"You're a refugee," Katara said

"Humph. Tell me somethin' I don't know." he scoffed

"You are a bit irritating." Iris offered. Four people looked at her, even Neva and Momo looked at her.

"What?" she asked, "He asked for it."

In the distance, a mass of people approached. Iris narrowed her eyes and pointed at the direction.

"Is that your tribe?" Katara asked

The man turned to look and then frowned, "It most certainly is NOT."

The people almost approached them. They were dressed in rude animal skins and look generally unkempt.

"That's the Zhang tribe. A bunch of low-life thieves. They've been the enemies of my tribe for 100 years." the man explained and then whistled rudely at them "Hey Zhangs! I'm savin' a spot for my tribe so don't even THINK of stealing it!"

A huge Zhang woman walked up to the man menacingly. The Scout leaned back, somewhat intimidated.

"Well, he doesn't seem very strong now," Iris muttered, folding her arms, only for Katara to elbow her.

"Where are the rest of the Gan-Jin? Still tidying up their campsite?" the woman asked.

The man leaned forward to push the Zhang Leader back, "Yes! But they sent me ahead of them to hold a spot."

"I didn't know the canyon guide took reservations." the Zhang leader said.

"Heh! Of course, you didn't. That's the ignorance I'd expect from a messy Zhang! So unorganized and ill-prepared for a journey." the man replied.

The entire Zhang tribe began to grumble loudly at this. An angry mob was about to form.

"This isn't looking good" Iris muttered, shared a disconcerted look with Aang and Katara.

Suddenly, the sound of moving earth resonated and a huge rock began to split apart. The rocks were picked up and thrown out by an old man, who they guessed was the Canyon Guide, in a straw hat and green clothing.

The guide grunted.

"Sorry about the wait, youngsters." he gestured to the majestic canyon, "Who's ready to cross this here canyon?"

"Not us" Iris replied, "It's one of them." she paused, "We guess"

The first man ran towards the Guide.

"I was here first! My party's on their way!"

The guide looked a bit confused, "I can't guide people who aren't here."

The Zhang leader walked forward.

"Guess you guys'll have to make the trip tomorrow," she said mockingly.

"Wait! Here they come!" the man exclaimed, pointing at a direction. The group looked over and see a group of elegantly dressed people, wearing formal expressions on their faces.

"You're not seriously going to cave in to these spoiled Gan Jins! I mean, we're refugees too! And we've got sick people that need shelter." The Zhang leader shoved herself into the guide, pressing a finger into his chest.

"I...uh...well..." the guide stuttered, probably weighing his options.

"We've got old people who are weary from traveling." the first man said

"Sick people get priority over old people." The Zhang leader replied

"Maybe you Zhang's wouldn't have so many sick people if you weren't such slobs." The Gan Jin leader subtly replied.

"They are giving me a headache," Iris muttered, slightly massaging her temples.

"If you Gan Jins weren't so clean, maybe you wouldn't live to be so old." The Zhang leader snapped back.

Iris winced a little.

"I could smell your stink a mile away." Gan Jin leader said.

"Well, Aang, ready to put your peacemaking skills to the test?" Katara asked.

Aang looked on the ground in doubt, "I... don't know. A fight over chores is one thing. These people have been feuding for 100 years."

"Kid, do something." Iris winced again. What the hell was happening to her?

The three gave her a concerned look. Then Katara decided to take the step.

"Everyone, listen up!" She called out loudly, grabbing all their attention. She pointed at Aang, "This is the Avatar! And if you give him a chance, I'm sure he can come up with a compromise that will make everyone happy."

The two tribes looked to Aang for a moment in silence. Aang looked over them, thought for a second.

"Uh...you could share the earthbender and travel together?"

"Absolutely not!" the Gan Jin leader replied "We'd rather be taken by the Fire Nation," he pointed a finger accusingly at Zhangs, "than travel with those stinking thieves."

The Zhang Leader, in turn, pointed an accusing finger at the Gan Jin Leader.

"We wouldn't travel with you pompous fools anyway!"

"I am not pompous!"

General pandemonium broke out as the tribes began to yell at each other.

Iris winced again, going back to rub her temples a bit harder. Seriously, this was the worst time for a sudden headache.

"This feuding tribe stuff is serious business. Are you sure it's a good idea to get involved in this?" Sokka whispered to him

"To tell the truth, I'm not sure." and then Aang smiled "But when have I ever been?"

Katara placed a hand on Aang's shoulder and looked at the tribes, "He's the Avatar, Sokka. Making peace between people is his job."

"What do I do?" Aang whispered.

"Hey kid," Iris softly began. "Remember what I told you back when we were dealing with Hei-Bai?"

Aang looked at her question, "Uh...spirits don't attack without reason?"

Iris chuckled softly and nodded with a hum, "You found the problem and then the solution." She looked at him, squinting a little "Same would apply here."

Katara's face lit up, "Exactly! All you have to do find the reason why they are fighting, Aang."

Aang nodded but looked over her one more time, "Are you okay?"

"Just a headache"

"You aren't looking good, Iris" Katara approached her.

"I'm fine." she replied, "Just finish their squabble."

Aang looked at the two tribes, still arguing like fools. This continued for a moment or two before Aang intervened.

"Alright! Here's the deal!" he yelled, "No one is crossing this canyon until this fight is resolved!"

Both the leaders and their tribes looked at him.

"And what do you suggest?" Gan Jin leader asked.

"You both are going to tell me the reason for this fight. And I'll do my best to help you all. Deal?"

Both the leaders looked at him for a second and then nodded.

"Okay," Aang settled on the ground, followed by Katara, Sokka, and Iris, who leaned against Appa, trying all healing spells she knew on her slowly increasing headache. The Zhangs followed them. The Gan Jins actually pulled out a clean piece of cloth, placed it on the ground, and then sat down on it.

"Gan Jins, please" Aang nodded at the leader.

"Why do they get to tell it first?" The Zhang leader demanded.

"Okay, listen, lady!" Iris finally addressed the tribes, "None of us want to be here any more than you do. And we are going out of our way to help you with your tribal problems. So sit down and let him," she pointed a finger at Aang, "do his job."

The three teens looked at her, shared a concerned look, before looking back at the tribes. She hadn't threatened the Zhangs, but the way she said it, really ended up shutting the Zhang leader.

Aang nodded at the Gan Jin leader.

"The patriarch of our tribe, Jin Wei, was an earthbender warrior who was assigned an important duty; transporting our sacred orb from the Great Eastern Gate to the Great Western Gate. Taking the orb from the east to the west represents the sun rising and setting. It was our tribe's ancient redemption ritual. But as he approached the gate, Jin Wei was attacked by one of the Zhang!"

The Zhang leader like she wanted to object, but a glare by the four kids made her sit back.

"A vermin, named Wei Jin, who looked at the orb with envy. That coward, Wei Jin, knocked Jin Wei to the ground and stole our sacred orb. Our people have never forgotten. You can never trust a Zhang."

Aang nodded, "Thank you." He then looked at the Zhang leader, who looked highly displeased, "Zhangs," he urged.

The woman snorted but spoke,

"Our conflict with the Gan Jin goes back over a hundred years..." she began, "Our forefather, Wei Jin, was leaving the western gate of our village when he saw a figure in the distance. It was a man of the Gan Jin tribe, Jin Wei, collapsed on the ground. Noble Wei Jin stopped to help him. Jin Wei was transporting a sacred orb, a very powerful relic used in his tribe's redemption ritual. Wei Jin tried to tend to the man's wounds, but Jin Wei insisted the orb was more important and asked him to take it back to his tribe. Kind Wei Jin promised to send help for the man as soon as he could, but as Wei Jin crossed the border to return the orb into Gan Jin territory he was arrested!" she snarled, "Instead of thanking him for his kind and selfless deed, they sentenced him to twenty long years in prison. We Zhang's will never forget that injustice."

"That is not true!" Gan Jin leader accused, "Stop lying, you lowly savage."

"We are not lying. Everyone knows what really happened. You are the ones lying. You unjust, stiff spoiled swine!"

"Why you dirty thief!"

"You pompous fool!"

The tribes began taunting and arguing with each other again.

"Guys! FOCUS!" Aang intervened, looking at the end of his patience, which was an achievement on its own, "How many times do I have to say it? Harsh words won't solve problems, ACTION will!"

They stopped fighting and they looked at Aang.

"Perhaps the Avatar is right." Zhang leader said

"Yes, perhaps he is." Gan Jin leader agreed

Aang grinned, his eyes shiny with hope. He looked at Iris, who smiled back at him and nodded

"Harsh words will never solve our problems..."

"..action will!"

And to the quartet's horror, both leaders drew their swords and approached each other. They crossed swords in front of Aang, who drew back with a cry of surprise and fear. The two leaders faced off against one another, the tribes watching the spectacle.

"To the death! And let this be the end of this rivalry!" Gan Jin leader declared.

"Maybe you messed up" Sokka provided.

"You know, I take it back! Harsh words aren't so bad!" Aang nervously said.

The leaders ignored him and began the fight in earnest. After several feints and thrusts, they pushed each other apart. The Gan Jin's lower beard fell off, and one of Zhang leader's hair-braids cut off. They rushed at each other again, but as they met Aang brought his staff down and blew the two sides backward.

Breathing heavily, an irritated look on his face, Aang looked between the two leaders,

"You are all...AWFUL!" he exclaimed.

"Those thieves stole our sacred orb from Jin Wei!" Gan Jin accused again.

"You tyrants unjustly imprisoned We Jin for twenty long years!" Zhang replied.

"Kid, please do something." Iris requested, pressing further into her forehead. It was getting worse. No matter how many healing spells she'd use, it will not lessen. Ugh! Fucking Merlin!

Aang cried in frustration, grabbing the sides of his face. And then his face lit up.

"Wait a second! Jin Wei? Wei Jin? I know those guys!" he said.

Iris's eyes slightly widened. He what now?

"Yes, yes, we're all aware of the story." Gan Jin leader said

"No!" Aang declared as the leaders lowered their weapons and turned to him, "I mean I really knew them. I may not look it, but I'm 112 years old. I was there a hundred years ago on the day you're talking about..."

"I think your fight is nothing but a huge misunderstanding. It seems to be a lot of confusion about what happened. First of all, Jin Wei and Wei Jin weren't enemies, they were brothers, twins in fact and they were eight and most importantly, they were just playing a game! The sacred orb from the legend that was the ball. And the eastern and western gates were the goalposts. Jin Wei had the ball and was running toward the goal when he fell and fumbled it. Win Jei didn't steal the ball, he picked it up and started running it back toward the other goal. But he stepped out of bounds, so the official put him in the penalty box, not for twenty long years, but for two short minutes."

Aang grinned, "There was no stealing and no putting anyone in prison. Just a game."

"You're saying the sacred orb was actually a sacred ball?" Zhang leader asked.

"Nope, just a regular ball," Aang replied.

"What about our tribe's redemption ritual?" the first Gan Jin man asked

"That's what the game was called, Redemption. As soon as someone got the ball from one goal to the other everyone would yell, "Redemption!" Aang threw his arms in the air

The leaders shared a look, but Aang continued,

"Don't get me wrong, Wei Jin was kind of a slob and Jin Wei was a little stuffy, that much is true, but they respected each other's differences enough to share the same playing field."

The leaders shared another look

"If your ancestors could, what's stopping you two?" Iris stood up, pushing back the pain.

"I suppose it's time we forget the past..." Zhang leader said after a while.

"...and look to the future." Gan Jin leader said and bowed.

The Zhang Leader bowed in turn as Aang, smiling, looked on.

"Now you both can share the same Canyon guide and pass the canyon." Iris provided. She tried to curb her left eye twitching under the headache.

"I suppose we can."

"That was an amazing job, kid." the guide grinned at Aang

"Thanks." Aang smiled back

The leaders approached Aang,

"I cannot thank you enough, Avatar." Gan Jin leader said.

"Well, you know, I try," Aang replied

Zhang leader just nodded with a smile and then turned to the crowd,

"Let us travel to the Earth Kingdom capital as one tribe!"

Once the two tribes left with the guide to cross the canyon, Iris climbed on top of Appa. The headache had just pounced back with as much force, if not more. All she wanted to was get some sleep in the least. Or maybe find some healer.

"Now can we leave? I've had enough wrangles to last a few months" she said.

The other three followed.

"That was a great job, kid. Proud of you." Iris smiled, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head

Aang looked at her and grinned.

"That's some luck you knew Jin Wei and Wei Jin," Sokka said

"You could call it luck." Aang's grin turned into an evil grin, "Or, you could call it... lying!"

Katara, who was holding Momo, looked shocked while Sokka frowned.

"What!?" Sokka asked

"You did what?" Iris asked

"I made the whole thing up," Aang admitted sheepishly

"You did not!" Katara looked at him in disbelief and then look changed into a devilish admiration, "That is so wrong."

Iris laughed and swung her arm around Aang,

"I'll still say, you did quite a great job. I'm still proud of you. Just don't make this a habit" and she winced.

"Okay," Aang nodded and looked at her in worry, "You sure you are okay, Iris?"

"It's just this stupid headache. It won't go away," she replied, going back to rub her temples.

"Have you tried your healing spells?" Sokka asked.

Iris nodded.

"Maybe I can help," Katara offered

"Knock yourself," she replied

Iris settled casually and Katara sat in front of her in knees. She waterbended some water out of her skin and placed it around Iris' head.

Iris closed her eyes and tried to relax. She felt the water for a solid 5-minutes before the headache turned into a migraine and hit her like a bulldozer. The last thing she vaguely remembered was hitting the saddle but didn't have enough energy to open her eyes and darkness just consumed her.

* * *

When Iris's eyes opened, she found that the headache was no longer there. She groaned, raising her head and then her body. Her back hit something. Looking over her shoulder, she found herself lying at the roots of a huge oak tree

Looking around, she found herself all alone in what looked like a woodland. The wind was very chilly, causing her to shiver a little and wrap her arms around her. She stood up and walked a few steps. Okay, something was terribly wrong. She wasn't anywhere in the Earth Kingdom, she could tell, and her group was absent.

Where was she?

Deciding that the best option was to canvass her surroundings, she looked around. In front of her was a very clear stream of water. She crouched and touched it, only to pull her hand back. It was ice cold.

She stood up and looked around. No matter how farther she could see, it was plain land with occasional trees. The sky was calm blue. In all, it was a picturesque location and she would have maybe admired it all had she no idea where this place, how she got there, and where exactly was here?

She took a deep breath and looked around. Not a single soul. Human or animal.

Maybe she could sense the energy and find something. She sat down in a lotus position, near the stream, brought her knuckles together and closed her eyes. And she was hit by a huge wave of energy, causing her to open her eyes and stumble a little. She had never felt anything like that before. The strongest she had felt was at the sanctuaries at Air temple and Roku's temple. This was...overwhelming. The amount of energy. Spirit energy, she must add.

"The energy of this place is stupendous, isn't it?"

She turned around quickly and saw a lady, next to the tree. She looked around early to mid-40s. Her skin was super pale, very similar to her. Her eyes a bright blue. Her light blonde hair was pulled back in an elegant bun. She wore flowing grey-silver robes, made of what looked like silk or satin. How wasn't she feeling cold?

"Who are you?" Iris asked, standing up.

The woman smiled in a welcoming way, "My name is Duová. I'm an energybending master"

Iris's eyes widened. "No way," she muttered, "Energybenders are extinct in the world."

Duová nodded, "They certainly are. But you are no longer in the physical world, dear."

Iris's eyes narrowed, "Where am I?"

"You already know where you are."

Iris took a deep breath. Absence of everyone around her? Massive amounts of spirit energy? Unknown serene surroundings? An alive energybending master?

She looked at Duová, "What am I doing in the spirit world?"

Duová just smiled. Merlin! It had started to become irritating and she just met her!

"Because we have a long overdue chat."

* * *

"Katara, why isn't she waking up?"

Katara looked at Sokka, "I don't know what's wrong with her, Sokka. Asking me the same question every 30 seconds is not gonna change my answer!"

"Guys please," Aang intervene, pulling Appa's reins as they landed.

Katara looked back at the energybender. She had collapsed about a half-hour ago, alarming them all. If there hadn't been Iris' normal breathing or continuous pulse, Katara would have really panicked.

Aang guessed was that maybe her headache took its toll on her. But Katara and Sokka knew better. Iris never got headaches, let alone lose her consciousness because of it.

The night had started falling and they had to camp for the night.

Aang approached Katara tending to Iris so she could be comfortable.

"Will she be okay?" he asked

Katara nodded, "Iris is strong. She'll be okay."

* * *

"Long overdue chat?" Iris asked.

"I believe Avatar Roku spoke with you?" she asked, approaching her.

"If by speak, you mean him telling me to revive the Energy Clan, self-learn and master energybending in a matter of few months and teach Aang whatever he needs to learn?" she counted off on her fingers then looked at Duová, "then yes. Yes, he did." she inhaled sharply, "How did I even get here?"

Duová chuckled. "I'm a master in energy bending. I can bend a human energy and spirit energy. It wasn't hard. You'll learn eventually."

"And how long have you known about me?"

She had been in the bending-world for about more than a year. Why would Duová contact her now?

"Ever since you touched Avatar Wan's statue at the Air temple sanctuary."

Iris raised a single brow.

"The Avatars are a bridge between the physical and the spirit world. And so are their relics. You touching Avatar Wan's statue sent something similar to an energy surge into the spirit world, which alerted me of your existence."

"Why wait so long for this chat then? If you've known about me for weeks"

"Because you needed to be attuned with your inner energy and spirit energy before I could bring you to the spirit world itself. Which you weren't before."

When did she attune with the spiri-? Hei-Bai. Of course. She grunted and ran a hand through her hair,

Duová smiled, her blue eyes twinkling, "Your spirit is fierce. I really can't remember the last energybender I met with so much fire." she stood next to her and looked at her, "I see the spirits have chosen the right person."

"But I don't how to do anything," Iris said

"This is why we need to have this talk," Duová sat down on the banks of the stream and patted the ground next to her. Iris obliged and sat down.

"I do have to say, I'm quite impressed with what you have been able to teach yourself."

"Thank you?"

Duová sighed a bit tiredly, "I'm not sure you understand how deep energybending itself is. It's older than any elemental bending and far stronger. There's a reason Master energybenders were considered pretty equivalent to the Avatar."

"I'm guessing it's because a master energybender can take any benders bending and can give anyone their bending"

Duová snorted elegantly, "There's a lot more to energybending than just giving or removing bending."

They sat in silence for a solid minute.

"Your mind is clouded with thoughts" Duová noted.

Iris sighed. Of course, Duová'd know legilimency.

"Is it true?" Iris began. Duová just raised a brow.

"I guess you know my theory on how energybenders went extinct. Is that true?"

Duová hummed. She reached and waved her hand in the ice-cold water, and didn't even flinch.

"The event took place a decade after I decided to leave the physical world in favor of the spirit world. I guess we'll never know what really happened. Though, my hypothesis wasn't quite different from yours."

Iris nodded, biting her lip.

"I can tell you feel pressured by this responsibility you have on your shoulders. I know it's not easy."

"I'm used to things not being easy for me." Iris replied, pulling her knees to her chest, "What I'm worried about is how am I do it? Going by the statistics, if I did have 3 children, only one of them would turn out to be an energybender. That's not exactly reviving the culture."

"The reason why energybenders wouldn't often have energybending children is the same reason why pureblood families of your world would have squibs often."

Iris looked at her in surprise, "Wait. Back up. You know about the Wizarding World?"

Duová chuckled, "Of course, I do. I was astonished by how they evolved. Magic, is it called now?" she hummed, "It also pains me to see how the younger generations have grown. Splitting their souls into pieces to gain immortality? That is just plain vile."

"Tell me about it," Iris muttered, a shudder running down her spine at the memory of being Voldemort's eighth soul container.

"They were never able to grasp the true meaning of energybending. It is so much more than just spells or potions or duels. Energy is everywhere around us. Enerybending is learning the ways of energy. To be flexible like water, sturdy like earth, determined like fire and free like air. To be able to manifest your thoughts while also being imperceptible. To be able to adapt to your surroundings and your battles. It is not only bending energy to do the impossible, no. That is the true meaning of energybending."

"Energybenders had always been a peaceful clan. We always distanced ourselves from disputes and wars. Our population was limited from the beginning, so we couldn't endanger them anymore. But when I found out that my entire race got extinct because of the stupidity of a few, I must say I was pretty furious. About 40 centuries later, I found out about people in a different realm who could do things similar to those once we could, but with the help of sticks-"

"Wands"

"- and staffs, I realized that whatever caused the extinction of my clan, also gave these people their bending, but only weaker than ours. And since I discovered them, I've been observing them, studying them and learning how they advanced over centuries."

She sighed, "This world had been out of balance for the last 100 centuries. But when you arrived, a bender with an energybending so similar yet so different, I knew we had a chance of restoring the balance."

"We?" Iris asked, "You are in on this whole thing?"

"Despite our clan's aloofness from the existing world, all we wanted were peace and balance too" she smiled.

"So, you sent Roku?"

"I didn't send Avatar Roku. I merely asked him to talk to you. I had to. I wasn't going to miss the only opportunity of preparing you for what is to come."

Iris took a breath, "You could just tell me all this after the war, you know. I'm a bit busy these days."

"I'm afraid I can't."

"What do you mean? Has this something to do with the whole 'master-your-element-before-summer' thing Roku told Aang about?"

"Iris, you have to understand. Energybenders can be extremely powerful. And if...manipulated, a very deadly weapon."

"Duová, I'm coming to respect you. But please, you gotta be straightforward with me."

Duová sighed, "Your identity is known to a very few right now. And you have to keep it this way. If the Fire Lord got to know of your existence, you might just win him this war."

Iris looked at Duová as if she grew two heads, "I'd never, not in eternity ever, join Ozai in his despotism nightmare."

"Not willingly, you won't. But anyone can be manipulated into doing anyone else's bidding if the lives of loved ones are at stake." Duová looked at her.

Iris gulped and ran a hand through her white hair. Okay. Ozai could make her his biggest weapon. Isn't that wonderful news? She was a goddamn human, not a fucking weapon!

"What do you suggest I do?"

"For now, keep your identity a secret. Practice. And help the Avatar. I will be there to guide you when the time will arise." Duová stood up with a smile and turned to leave

Iris nodded when she realized something, "Duová," she called

"Yes, dear?" Duová stopped and looked at her

"When Roku gave me a boost, I think it was a boost, my eyes glowed. At least according to my friends. What does that mean?"

Duová just smiled, "Everything will reveal itself in time."

Iris scowled. Great. She told that to Aang and now, Duová was telling her the same.

"I have a lot more to ask you. How do I teach myself the complex things? When would I know I'm ready to learn to bend other people's energy? How exactly do I have to teach Aa-"

"Your friends are getting worried. You should return." she smiled and disappeared behind the tree.

Iris grunted and ran her hands through her hair, over face and threw them up in the air,

"Fucking great!" she grunted again. But right now her priority was getting back to the physical world. So she sat down, back in her meditating position and concentrated as darkness fell over her.

* * *

Iris woke up to a headache, just not as worse as before. She groaned, her hand going to hold her head. She blinked a couple of times to adjust to the natural light around her and get things in focus. Once that happened, she raised her head, her torso, and looked around. Guess they had found a camping spot.

She climbed to the edge of the saddle, to see Katara and others having some dinner. She slowly climbed off Appa. As soon as she jumped on the ground,

"Iris!"

She turned around and caught Aang and Katara, falling back into Appa.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked.

"Better than before," Iris smiled

"What happened to you?" Aang asked as the two pulled

"I tried but I couldn't find what was wrong with you," Katara added

"Well, nothing was wrong with me." she shrugged, "I paid a little visit to the spirit world"

"Spirit world?" Aang asked, "I didn't know you could do that"

"Well, that makes two of us. Somehow Duová managed to get me into Spirit world. That should explain the headache" she muttered,

"Who's Duová?" Sokka asked

She took a deep breath, "Duová is an energybending master I met in the spirit world. We had a lovely chat."

"A chat?" Aang asked

Iris nodded with a smile. Suddenly her stomach grumbled. Blushing with embarrassment, she looked at the kids, who were chuckling at her,

"What's for dinner?"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for how long it took me to update.
> 
> I just had an anxiety attack a few days ago and had to attend some therapy sessions, which occupied most of my time. I'm really hoping I don't have to go through that again. So, I can keep up with my fanfics too.
> 
> Anyway, I'm a self-learning digital artist, so as an experiment/practice, I tried to draw Iris Potter, to the best of my abilities. If you guys want, I can post it here? Let me know


	10. The Ghosts of Past and Present

Iris was having a peaceful night, for a change. No nightmares, no spirit world travel (she still had no idea how to do that. She'd have to ask Aang to teach her) or sudden attacks. It was a rather calm, quiet night.

Only to be a sudden pressure to be placed on her stomach, pressed and taken away. She woke up within another second, her dagger in her hand as she looked around.

"Huh? Uh... what's going on? Did we get captured?" Sokka asked, groggily.

"It's nothing, I just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

Iris looked at Aang, who looked a little worried.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Sokka just rolled over and went back to sleep as if he was never disturbed.

Iris rolled her eyes and looked back at Aang, who was curled up.

"Are you all right, Aang?" Katara asked.

"I'm okay." came a weak reply.

"You seem to be having a lot of nightmares lately, you wanna tell me about it?" Katara prodded.

Aang shook his head slightly, "I think I just need some rest."

Sokka suddenly sprang up straight, looking excited for some reason. "You guys want to hear about my dream?"

Silence washed over them. Iris frowned as she heard the cliche crickets chirp in the background. Once Katara shot Sokka an annoyed glance, he went back to bed.

"That's ok, I didn't wanna talk about it anyway," Sokka added.

Katara went to lie down but Iris didn't. Aang seemed in no shape or intention to go back to sleep. She did a _Tempus_. It was about 3.45 AM. Well, that was 15 minutes earlier her usual waking time. She got up, tucking her dagger in its place, and sat next to Aang.

"Aren't you going back to sleep?" Aang asked.

Iris shook her head, smiled, and looked at him, "You look like you could use some company, kid."

The two just sat there in silence. Iris closed her eyes slightly. And she felt it. Aang was not only lying about being okay, he was quite disturbed. That minute shift in his energy was quite significant. She had read that an energybender can learn if a lie is being told by seeing the change in energy. She just never realized it would be this soon.

The worst part?

She never had to deal with a child suffering from nightmares before. She had no clue what to do or how to comfort him. Sure she wasn't a stranger to nightmares or waking in the middle of the night because of them, but she never had to comfort another person who suffered them. She was always on the receiving end of that comfort. She sucked at comforting others.

She mentally sighed.

"I've heard that sharing problems reduce the pain," she muttered, hoping it might serve as an ice breaker.

Aang looked at her,

"I'm okay, Iris," he repeated.

And it pained her to see that a kid this age was lying about his wellbeing. Now she understood how others would have felt when she'd lie about her wellbeing.

Iris nodded and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"If you ever want to talk, about anything, just remember, I'll always be here for you."

Aang nodded.

A few minutes later, he leaned into her embrace.

"Iris," he said in a very meek voice.

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever regretted something?"

Iris inhaled sharply, caught off-guard by that question. Has she regretted anything? Where should she start? she mentally snorted.

"A few decisions I made," she replied.

"Have you ever thought what would have happened if you had not made those decisions?"

Maybe Sirius would have been alive. Maybe Cedric would have been alive. Maybe she wouldn't have scarred/hurt Draco that badly in that bathroom. Maybe she could have blocked Voldemort out of her mind for good, rather than being selfish. Maybe she could have avoided that huge fight with Ron, which made him temporarily leave during their hunt. And so much more.

"I try not to think about it." she answered after quite a pregnant pause, "I made those decisions. I faced the results. I'm living with the consequences. There's no point in regretting those decisions now when there's no way to change them anymore. The best you can do is not dwell in the past and look into the future."

She looked at Aang, who was looking at her with those big grey eyes. She smiled comfortingly. He just pressed into her.

* * *

"Well, we better smoothly fly ourselves to a market, cause we're out of food."

Iris opened a single eye and looked around and sighed in defeat.

"This sucks."

"Guys, wait, this was in my dream, we shouldn't go to the market," Sokka exclaimed, alarmed.

"What happened in your dream?" Katara asked

Sokka's eyes right out bugged in in fright.

"Food eats people!" He said a bit eerily.

The other three, clearly unimpressed, stare at him.

"I wouldn't mind if a cabbage ate me right now," Iris muttered tiredly and leaned against Appa.

"Also, Momo could talk!" Sokka added the faced Momo, "You said some very unkind things."

"How was your meditation?"

Iris looked at Aang and tsked. "Nope. Nothing. I didn't even feel any spiritual energy remotely. I suck at this."

"Don't give up so soon. It is not easy to travel into the spirit world. Maybe next time you go, you can ask Duová"

Iris shrugged, "Oh, I'll ask her alright"

It was frustrating. She was so used to being so good at magic that this block was giving her a hard time. The only other time she even remotely felt like this was when Snape was teaching her Occlumency. But that had more do to with her reluctance to block Voldemort.

Shaking her head, she called on others so they could leave.

They approached the harbor. Once they demounted Appa, he just went and laid in the water next to one of the jetties as if he was a ship.

Leaving him there, the four people and two animals, made their way to the market when Iris realized something,

"Guys," she called, "do we really have money to buy anything?"

The other three stopped and looked at her.

"We...actually don't." Katara noted, "Unless we can buy something for two coppers."

Sokka sighed and hung his head down, "That's just great"

"Now what?" Aang asked.

Sokka's stomach grumbled, causing him to hang his head down further, "Out of food and out of money, now what are we supposed to do?"

"You could get a job, smart guy," Katara said, crossing her arms

"I'm not really sure about that" Iris ran a hand through her hair. They were already pretty noticeable, and if Zuko or Fire Nation got to know about their location because of a certain job, that'd be bad and not a worthy risk. It was then they heard something.

"We shouldn't go out there! Please, the fish can wait. There's going to be a terrible storm." An old woman was saying.

"Ahh, you're crazy! It's a nice day. No clouds, no wind, no nothing, so quit you're naggin' woman." An old man, probably her husband, said.

"Maybe we should find some shelter?" Aang suggested.

"Are you kidding? Shelter from what?" Sokka asked.

"Storm," Iris provided.

"The sky's clear!" Sokka replied.

"Sokka, that's the calm before storm," Iris pointed.

And then they heard,

"Then I'll find a new fish hauler and pay him double what you get! How do you like that?" the old man said

And Sokka dashed to them, "I'll go!" he volunteered

the old man pointed at Sokka, "You're hired!"

Iris pressed her lips and folded her arms. Katara was slightly frowning.

"What? You said 'get a job' and he's paying double." Sokka defended himself.

The old man looked at Sokka weirdly, "Double? Who told ya that nonsense?"

Sokka got to business, preparing the boat with the old man.

Only 15 minutes must have passed when grey clouds started appearing over the sea. And soon those grey clouds turned angry dark grey, almost black. The wind had picked up.

"I'm not sure it is safe anymore," Iris muttered.

Aang and Katara looked at her then shared a look. Following that, Aang went to talk to Sokka, followed by the Katara.

"Sokka, maybe this isn't such a good idea. Look at the sky." Aang pointed at the approaching clouds.

"I said I was gonna do this job. I can't back out just because of some bad weather." Sokka replied, "I'm a big boy and I can do it"

"The boy with the tattoos has some sense. You should listen to him!" the old woman said

"Boy with tattoos?" the old man asked, putting his things down. He turned to Aang, "Airbender tattoos...well I'll be a hogmonkey's uncle! You're the Avatar, ain't ya?"

And he approached them.

"Depends," Iris replied from her spot.

The man looked at her and frowned,

"Well, don't be so stuck up about it" he snapped at her, "The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years." he jabbed Aang's chest with his forefinger, "You turned your back on the world!"

"Don't yell at him! Aang would never turn his back on anyone!" Katara defended him.

Iris just looked at Aang, who for some reason didn't defend himself. And he wouldn't do that only if it was right.

"Oh? He wouldn't, uh? Then I guess I must have imagined the last hundred years of war and suffering." the old man said. Iris was still looking at Aang.

An irate Katara stepped between Aang and the old man,

"Aang is the bravest person I know! He has done nothing but help people and save lives since I met him. It's not his fault he disappeared, right Aang?"

Aang had been backing up while Katara had been telling off the old man. When she was finished, he turned to flee but Iris caught his shoulder. If one thing she did learn, it was running away was not a solution, ever.

"Aang? What's wrong?" Katara asked.

Iris looked at her and shook her head. Thankfully Katara understood and shook her head.

"That's right! Keep runnin'!"

"You're a horrible old man!" Katara snapped at the man, who didn't seem much affected.

Iris looked down at Aang. His eyes were shut closed, his palms fisted. And she could feel that he was trembling.

"Sokka," she called.

"Yeah?" he emerged from the boat.

"Are you sure you want to go? Double or not, I'd rather you not risk it."

"Iris, I can do this. I'm a big boy. Besides, It looks like everything's gonna be calm for a while. We'll be back before the storm would even approach."

"Stop controlling the kid," The old man told her, "He's a big boy."

Iris raised a brow but didn't argue. Right now her priority was Aang. And she trusted Sokka that much. She just hoped it wouldn't later bite her in the ass.

"Okay, meet us back here at the shore," she said, "and be safe out there. Weather isn't looking any good."

"Okay"

"Come on," she guided Aang and Katara. She led them to a small shop, she went in and then returned with a package. Following that, she looked at Neva.

"Find a place in the forest."

Neva nodded with a chirp and took off.

She could have rented out a room in an inn or something, but the forest provided them cover on top of the shelter. She led the two back to Appa. She made sure they were seated securely on the saddle. She handed the package to Katara and settled to hold the reins.

"Appa, yip yip."

Neva met them halfway and then guided them to a cave she had found which could accommodate them all.

She shot a concerned look at Aang, who still looked pretty dejected and hadn't spoken a word. Katara had wanted to try, but she stopped her. If she was right, previous night/ early morning's questions had something to do with him being frozen in ice and 'turning his back to the world'.

Iris landed Appa. And at once the five of them made their way inside the cave.

Appa settled in the end, curling. Momo was against him. Neva took off, only to return with some dry wood. The rain started just as Neva returned. She arranged the wood and cast a small _Incendio_. Once the fire was set, she started making ginseng tea. While it boiled she approached Aang, who had curled up in a fetus position and sat next to him. Katara sat opposite to them, looking at Aang worriedly.

Iris exhaled and ran her hand soothingly across Aang's back. The best she could do was provide him comfort and support. Whatever was troubling him, it won't stop until he either shared it or accepted it.

Iris was not prepared when Aang tackled her and wrapped his arms around her midsection, hugging her tightly. She shared a worried and surprised a look with Katara, but allowed Aang to have his time.

"I'm sorry," he said. His voice was very low, but in the silence of the cave, they could easily hear him.

"It's ok. That fisherman was way out of line." Katara said. Iris continued rubbing his back.

"Actually, he wasn't." he turned and looked at Katara.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." and Aang faced back into the hug.

Iris exhaled, "Bottling things up and letting them stew isn't going help anyone. Especially you. One day or the other, you have to face your past. Come on, kid. You cannot always run."

"Talk to us," Katara added, placing a hand on his knee.

Aang looked at her and then pulled, "Well, it's kind of a long story."

Momo flew in to settle on Aang's lap, trying to find what was wrong with him.

Iris made sure Appa and Neva were comfortable before she poured the now-ready tea in three cups and distributed them.

"This'll keep you warm," she said. She really hoped Sokka was doing okay and would turn up just fine.

"I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the Avatar." Aang began, holding the cup in both his hands "I was playing with some other kids just outside the south wall. I was trying to teach them how to do the air scooter...when Monk Gyatso with four other monks came for me. I thought I was in trouble.

They led me to the chambers of the temple-monastery. And they told me that I was the Avatar." he paused and the girls let him have his time, "I asked them how they knew it was me. They showed me some of my favorite toys from when I was little"

Iris wanted to point out that he still was little but didn't.

"They told me that I chose those toys from among thousand of toys. Those toys I picked were the four Avatar relics. Items which belonged to the past Avatars." he inhaled sharply, "My own past life."

Despite the warm tea in their hands, no one drank it. They were much focused on Aang and his past that troubled him.

"They were supposed to withhold that I was the Avatar until I turned 16, but Gyatso said there were some troubling times. They were worried that war would worsen. They needed me."

He lowered his head. Iris looked at her own hands, twiddling her thumbs.

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark them as his equal, but they will have power the Dark Lord knows not..._

A strangely familiar voice whispered. Iris perked up and looked behind her. There was no one. She looked down at her hands again.

_and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…_

Iris looked behind her again. Still no one. Just a sleeping Appa and Neva curled next to him for heat. She gulped. What was happening to her?

She took a deep breath and focused back on Aang, unable to understand what just happened. She wasn't hallucinating, was she? Again with the voices. They hadn't troubled her since the Southern air temple, but why now suddenly?

And a prophecy she remembered by heart. The prophecy which outlined her entire life.

She cleared her throat but increased the guard around her.

"So you were upset that you were the Avatar? Why wouldn't you be excited about it?" Katara asked

"Well, I didn't know how to feel about it. All I knew is that after I found out, everything began changing..." Aang replied, "Other kids didn't wanna play with me anymore because I was the Avatar. I wasn't allowed to have fun anymore. And then, just when I was starting to feel better, something worse happened."

He inhaled sharply,

"Gyatso wanted me to have fun and freedom, like any normal kid. But other monks wanted me to train all the time. They said I must be separated from Gyatso because his affection for me was clouding his judgment." he paused again, "They wanted to send me to Eastern Air temple to complete my training."

"That's awful, Aang. I don't know what to say." Katara softly said.

Katara tried to put her hand on his shoulder, but he got up, angry, and walked to the mouth of the cave.

"How could they do that to me! They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved!"

Aang's tattoos began to glow as his rage increased. Iris and Katara too stood up.

"And what are you planning on doing now?" Iris demanded, "Getting mad at something that happened 100 years ago is not going to change anything. There's no point in crying over spilled milk."

The glow around his tattoos faded and his head hung down.

"I'm sorry I got so mad."

The girls approached him,

"Kid, you had a right to be angry after the way they decided to treat you because you are the Avatar"

Katara nodded, "Especially after the monks sent you away like that."

"Well, that's not exactly what happened..."

"Let's go back inside before you two catch cold or something," Iris herded them inside to sit around the fire.

Aang was still looking downcast and guilty,

"I was afraid and confused. I didn't know what to do." Aang admitted, "I did what I thought was best for me."

His eyes were glistening and shining, reflecting the fire's orange hue.

"I never saw Gyatso again." he sighed "Next thing I knew, I was waking up in your arms after you found me in the iceberg."

"You ran away," Katara muttered.

Aang nodded, "I left a note for Gyatso and I ran away," he then looked up at them, "And then the Fire Nation attacked our temple. My people needed me and I wasn't there to help."

"You don't know what would've –" Katara began but Aang cut her and stood up.

"The world needed me and I wasn't there to help."

"Aang..." Katara called, but he ignored it.

"The fisherman was right! I did turn my back on the world."

"You did."

Aang and Katara looked at her in surprise. Katara moreso than Aang. Iris looked back at the Airbender,

"Doesn't mean you did the wrong thing."

"What?" Aang asked.

Iris patted the place next to her and he returned. There was no point in sugar-coating things for him at the moment. If that decision troubled him so much, he had to accept the truth of what he did.

"What do you mean?" he asked

She sighed, "Sometimes we make decisions we think are the best for us and people around us. And we are proven wrong. I get it. Trust me, I know how much that hurts and the self-hate and guilt on top of that?" she scoffed, "It can be suffocating. But only so if we let it." she paused, "You were 12. No one can blame you for running away after what the monks had planned for you." she chuckled humorlessly, looking at her teacup, "I myself wanted to run away after I learned of the prophecy. I don't blame you. You actually got more guts than me, kid," she smiled at Aang. Man, she was terrible at comforting people.

"But you are just being too hard on yourself. Like I told you, looking back at the past and regretting something that already happened, is not going to do any good. Not for you. Not for people around you."

Katara smiled softly at Aang, "Even if you did run away, I think it was meant to be. If you had stayed you would have been killed along with all the other airbenders."

"You don't know that," Aang told her.

"Past is in the past, kid. It is more important to focus on the present and future"

Katara nodded, "I know it's meant to be this way. The world needs you now. You give people hope."

"You gave us hope," Iris chuckled softly

Aang slowly smiled, raising his head to look at them. Momo hopped over to Aang and chittered.

"And now the tea's all cold," Iris chided, warming the tea before handing it to them again. The three sat in silence, sipping the warm tea, as they dug in their thoughts

Iris pulled her leg and rested her chin on it. What if...what if she hadn't left?

She'd be still in Wizarding World, that was for sure. Maybe raising Teddy with Andromeda. Helping Ron, Hermione, and others with rebuilding the Wizarding World. Rebuilding Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione...

Merlin, she wondered how they were doing. Were they still together? She really hoped they were. Ronmoine was her OTP. Who had George gotten along with? Was Percy back with the rest of his family? Did Neville manage to pursue his interest in Herbology? Did Luna manage to find any of those weird animals she used to fantasize about? Was Ginny dating anyone? Did any of the Weasleys have kids?

She looked outside at the raging storm.

Would Teddy ever know about her?

Her thoughts were cut short by,

"Help! Oh, please help!"

It was that old woman from the port. Katara rushed to her side, while Iris put her cup down. So did Aang.

"It's ok, you're safe," Katara said and brought her in.

"But, my husband isn't," she said.

"What do you mean? Where's Sokka?" Katara asked

"Have they returned?" Iris asked worriedly

"No. They should've been back by now, and this storm is becoming a typhoon. They're caught out at sea."

"I should have never let him go," Iris muttered, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm going to find them." Aand said resolutely

"We're going with you," Katara said

"I'm staying here!" the old woman said

"Suit yourself," Iris replied and looked at Neva, "Stay here with Momo"

They herded Appa to the cave entrance and climbed on top of him

"We'll be back soon, I promise," Aang promised and pulled Appa's reins

The wind was very fast and the rain was pricking them skin, hitting them like small shards of glass.

"Can you bend it?" she looked at Katara, shielding her face with her arm.

"I can try," Katara tried and managed to make a water dome over their heads.

"That'll do." Iris nodded. Once they appeared over the sea, the looked around.

"Where are they?" Katara asked.

Iris closed her eyes and tried a _point-me_ spell. Once she found him, she pointed at the general direction, "That way"

"Come on, Appa!" Aang jerked the reins. As they were moving forward, they saw a massive wall of water up ahead. It towered above them. Knowing that they can't pull up in time, they busted through its crest with a combination of Appa's strength and Aang using his staff like a helicopter blade to part the water. In the distance, they noticed a small boat, silhouetted by lightning strikes.

"The boat! It's there!" Aang pointed

Appa flew lower, closer to the boat and Aang jumped onto the boat. Lighting struck the mainmast which broke off. It was about to hit Aang but got blasted into smithereens. Aang looked over at Iris, who nodded.

"Hang on to the rope!" Aang called and jumped back onto Appa, pulling Sokka and the old man with him. Both landed on Appa as well, the old man spitting out some water and smiled sheepishly. Behind them, a shadow appeared and the sound of rushing water was heard.

A wave was building behind them much larger than even the one they saw before.

"Oh fuck," Iris muttered.

Appa tried to escape, but the wave was too fast and ended up submerging them all.

Iris chocked on, trying to hold onto something, but her vision became blurry. There's a pounding sound in her ears. Her chest started aching with the lack of oxygen. Blackness had started entering her vision when suddenly she felt a gust of fresh air and she heaved.

Composing herself, she looked up to see Aang in Avatar state, leading them all back in the sky. Once a little stable, Iris stood up, powering the energy sphere around them with more energy, before it broke the surface of the water and shot in the sky.

Once they were safe in the air, Iris just slumped down, face out of Appa's saddle should her lunch wanted to make an appearance. Though that didn't happen, she did spot Zuko's ship. And the spoiled prince on the deck. She was way tired to antagonize him.

Once they made it back to the cave, she got off Appa and slide on the ground,

"Never ever flying in a storm, ever again." she panted.

"That makes two of us," Sokka slumped next to her.

"You are lucky, you weren't hurt or something worse" Iris frowned at him

"Yeah" he groaned

She looked up as the old man apologized to Aang. that didn't stop Sokka from asking his payment.

she chuckled and sat with crossed legs.

"Uh, if you weren't here now, well, I guess I wouldn't be either. Thank you for saving my life, Avatar." the old man said.

Aang nodded back and the old couple left.

Aang came to sit next to her and Katara followed him.

"I think you were right before. I'm done dwelling on the past."

"Really?" Katara asked

Iris looked at Aang and smiled

"I'm glad."

Aang nodded, "I can't make guesses about how things would have turned out if I hadn't run away. I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it."

"I don't think you're gonna have those nightmares anymore." Katara smiled

"I told you talking helps" she shrugged, earning a chuckle from Aang.

"Do you hear that? It's stopped raining."

The four looked outside, where the sun was starting to breakthrough. Iris got up and the four made their way to the mouth of the cave.

And suddenly they are all drenched again as Appa shook himself.

"Appa!" they exclaimed, laughing.

* * *

Iris winced, stirring the pot of soup, as Sokka descended back into a coughing fit. All because of getting drenched in the storm the day before.

"This should bring your fever down." Katara wiped his forehead with a clean wet cloth.

"You know what I love about Appa the most? His sense of humor." Sokka muttered.

"That's nice. I'll tell him." Katara said.

Appa grunted at Sokka in response.

"Haha!" Soka laughed and waved his hand in the air, "Classic Appa."

Iris poured the hot soup in a bowl, put in a little more black pepper powder and walked to the siblings,

"Here." she settled next to Sokka and with the spoon, tried to feed it to Sokka, "Sokka..."

"What is that?" he asked, sniffing the soup from the spoon, then turned away, "Smells horrible."

"It will help you." Iris said softly, "Now don't make it harder for us, buddy. Come on."

"No!"

"Sokka, please," Iris requested. But Sokka just refused. She sighed and then looked at him.

"Would you have it if Appa told you to?" she asked.

Sokka looked at her with one eye, "Depends."

Iris looked over her shoulder, "Appa, tell him to eat the soup."

Appa just grunted. And then Sokka started laughing, patting his thigh, even while laying down.

"That was so funny," he snorted, "But if you say it, I'll have it"

Iris sighed in relief and began feeding Sokka the soup. What would she not give to have pepper-up potion on her right now?

"How's Sokka doing?" she heard Aang ask.

"Not so good. Being out in that storm really did a number on him."

Iris pushed back some of Sokka's stray hair from his forehead as she continued to feed him soup. She noticed him shivering, and pulled on the blanket.

"I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea, but I found a map."

Iris looked at Aang standing next to Katara.

"How's a map gonna help us?" she asked

Aang produced a scroll. He sat on his knees with Katara, a bit far from them to not catch a cold, and spread the scroll on the ground.

"There's an herbalist institute on the top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there." Aang pointed at the map. Iris wasn't looking, just listening. Her focus was to feed Sokka the entire cup so at least he could stop shivering and get some sleep.

"Aang, he's in no condition to travel. Sokka just needs more rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow." Katara informed and began to cough.

"Not you too!" Aang complained.

"Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fine –" Katara began but started coughing.

Iris finally managed to feed Sokka everything in the cup and got up, tucking him more and approached the other two.

"That's how Sokka started yesterday. Now look at him – he thinks he's an earthbender!"

The three looked at Sokka, who was swinging at something that wasn't there,

"Take that, you rock!"

"I didn't know fever can cause delusions," Iris muttered, now more worried than ever.

"A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense too," Aang said and got up, grabbing his staff "I'm going to find some medicine."

"Want me to come with you?" Iris asked.

Aang shook his head, "They need you more."

Iris nodded in return, "Take Neva with you. I'm not sending you alone."

Neva stopped whatever she was doing from her perch, and looked at them both as if questioning that decision. Iris raised a brow. Neva, if possible, would have rolled her eyes. And then she flew closer to Aang.

Aang opened his glider and walked to the edge of the temple. A huge flash of lightning illuminated Aang and the exterior of their camp. He twirled his glider shut and leaned it against the wall of the temple. He turned to look at them.

Iris just folded her arms, worry very evident on her face

"Uh, maybe it's safer if I go on foot." he said, "Keep an eye on 'em guys."

"I got here. You stay out of trouble." Iris replied. Appa grunted in reply.

"Haha! You guys are killin' me!" Sokka laughed, very delirious.

Aang turned and launched himself into the air, landing far down the hill the temple sat on, Neva just behind him.

Iris took a deep breath and turned to the siblings. Katara was starting to look flushed as well. She approached the waterbender and pressed the back of her palm against the girl's forehead. And she felt some abnormal warmth. She sighed and gently herded Katara towards Appa.

"Iris..." she tried to protest.

"You are starting a fever. Lie down and take rest." Iris pulled Katara's sleeping bag, unfolded it, and tucked her in it.

She looked at Sokka, who was starting to shiver again. Iris reached and placed a warming spell on his sleeping bag, which soon made him relax.

"I'll see if I can make something to help you," she muttered and went to check their supplies. She grunted, looking through everything until she finally found something helpful. Lemons. They could help with the sore throat.

She quickly poured some water in a pot with some tea leaves, placed it on fire, waiting for it to boil.

"Iris... please... water..." she heard Sokka whisper tiredly.

She quickly got up, took a cup ad approached him.

"Aguamenti," she whispered and the cup filled with clean drinkable water. She carefully tipped the bowl to Sokka's lips as he began drinking.

"Need more?" she softly asked, pushing past of some of Sokka's hair that stuck to his sweaty forehead.

"No" he slurred a little. she checked his temperature again,

"Merlin! you are getting hotter and hotter," she muttered and walked back to the teapot, "Please be quick, kid"

She made sure the tea was perfect before she poured it in two separate cups, squeezed some lemon in it and cooled it down just a little. Once done, she walked back to the siblings.

Katara was still doing better than Sokka. She passed her cup to Katara and brought the other to Sokka's lips.

"Drink this," she said.

Katara coughed a couple of times but managed to finish the tea.

"More?" she asked.

Katara just shook her head. Iris finished helping Sokka, and then tucked him and Katara firmly and took the cups back to their supplies. Unable to find anything to cure the siblings was crushing her. She didn't know how to help them.

She looked over the siblings, who were sleeping, or at least trying to in Katara's case. She sighed in frustration and opened a book where she had earlier read about the healing ability of energybenders. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a move or recipe that could help them.

She desperately went through the book, sparing the glances at the siblings from time to time. Appa was just as comfortable. At least he wasn't complaining.

she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She needed a cure!

"Where are you kid?" she muttered, worried, and desperate, walking back to the siblings to give them more water. She knew that fever could cause dehydration. And the last thing they needed on top of fever was dehydration affecting them. She just made sure the siblings drank as much fluid as possible. Be it tea or just water.

Iris grunted, again looking outside. But no sign of Aang or Neva. As if the universe heard her, she heard a loud trill echo from the forest and instantly recognized it. Only Neva could create that ruckus. And that meant one thing. Firebenders. Aang was in trouble.

"Momo, Appa," she looked at the two animals, "Take care of these two."

And she apparated focusing on Neva's trills.

* * *

In hindsight, she should at least tried apparating beforehand. Because when she appeared, she felt highly disoriented. Almost as if it was her first rodeo. She should have practiced beforehand.

Something whizzed past her head, which jerked her back. She looked down on the forest ground. It was an arrow, with Fire Nation insignia on it.

Her eyes widened, as she tried to look for the source only to see another arrow aiming for her.

"Fuck," she whispered and started running, soon entering what looked like a swamp.

"Kid!" her eyes widened when she saw Aang's sleeve pinned to a huge log by an arrow.

"Iris?!" he asked, "What are-"

"Later," she snapped and with a little difficulty, pulled the arrow "We need to run now."

Aang nodded, they both trying to dodge the shower of arrows. Another volley of arrows was shot aiming for them, but Aang waterbent a wall of ice in front of them.  
Iris quickly added her shield around the ice, but the barrage of arrows shattered them both.

"How are they doing it?" she demanded. She could just apparate them both, but she had no idea how it will affect Aang and herself. If the first apparition disoriented her. What if it messed her or Aang's or both of their bending abilities? There were a lot of ways that could go wrong, including splicing.

Another volley of arrows approached. Iris and Aang tried to duck them all, but unfortunately, one of them pinned Iris's shirt to a log

"Damn," she grunted and tried pulling it. She saw Aang trying to rush back to help her,

"No," she called "Go. Don't c-"

And suddenly a net covered his entire body, the force throwing him in the water.

Iris frowned, worried, and pulled the arrow, trying to rush to Aang, but soon she found herself being wrapped in something and thrown in the water. She looked at the net covering her upper torso, pulling her hands on her back. Her first thought was pulling her dagger and cutting off the net, but the closer she looked, she realized that the net wasn't made of rope, but metal. Well, her dagger could cut through metal too.

She looked at Aang, a few feet from her, and gave him a determined nod. Aang looked at her worried but nodded back. Before she could reach for her dagger, she heard footsteps splashing in the water.

she could still cut through and apparate with Aang, consequences be damned. Couldn't be worse than getting captured by Fire Nation.

Just as her hand grabbed the handle of the dagger, something sharp sliced her shoulder, making her cry out in pain.

"No!" Aang cried.

Iris looked down at her shoulder where now resided a very clean-cut incision, which started bleeding and some green paste residues on her shirt. And her head felt throbbing. Her eyes felt heavy.

"Iris?" the voice sounded distant.

"What did you do to her?!" the same voice, Aang's, she reminded herself, asked before darkness consumed her.

* * *

"-IS!...-KE UP!...IRIS!"

Iris winced when the distorted voice became louder and more clear.

"IRIS!"

She opened her eyes tiredly. Her head still felt heavy. Everything in her sight was blurred.

"IRIS! You have to wake up!"

She blinked for about a minute before things started taking definite shapes. She exhaled with her mouth and tried to feel her limbs, which she found bound.

"IRIS?!"

"Geez," she heaved, "a little quiet please."

"You are awake!"

"Yeah," she tiredly threw her head back. Some hair landed on her face, which she blew away. She looked at her arms, bound to pillars with metal chains. her legs were similar.

"Fucking great," she muttered and looked to her right, where Aang was bound in the same way.

"How's your shoulder?" he asked

Iris looked at her shoulder. Her shirt's shoulder was torn and had the dried blood with the same green residue, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped. It must have clotted. Some good news.

"A bit stingy, but other than that, seems fine," she replied and looked around the room. Red, metallic, and trying to be intimidating.

"I can't believe after everything, this is how we get captured by Fire Nation," she muttered, pulling the chains, making them rattle. "Bloody Merlin" she grunted, then winced.

"Maybe you should not strain your shoulder" Aang tried.

"Forget straining my shoulder. We need to get outta here" she replied.

"I'm worried about Katara and Sokka," Aang said.

"Neva, Momo, and Appa are with them. I think you should be more worried about us, kid," Iris said. She relaxed and cast a _Homenum Revelio_.

"Maybe I can break them."

"Don't. I can get us outta here. But someone's coming." she replied.

Aang stopped struggling just as the door opened. Iris and Aang raised their heads to look at the intruder.

He looked like a typical Firebender. The whole top-knot, armor, and a stupid ego on his face. Though his armor did seem a bit different, Iris noticed. Did it look... posher? The large sideburns on his face only increased the ugliness. And for some weird reason, this man gave her Lucius Malfoy vibes. Merlin, what was with firebenders giving her Death Eater vibes? First Zuko and now this man!

With hands behind his back, the man approached them. More like approached Aang.

"So this is the great Avatar?" he asked haughtily, "Master of all the elements. I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide and seek is over."

"I've never hidden from you. Untie me and I'll fight you right now!" Aang snapped back.

"Uhh, no. Tell me, how does it feel to be the only Airbender left?" he neared his ugly mug to Aang, "Do you miss your people?"

Aang's head just dropped. Iris didn't say anything. This man seemed way more interested in Aang than her, which could prove advantageous. The less he notices her, the better. Her clan was still considered extinct and she had no idea if this man even knew about energybenders. And if he did, and he finds out who she was, Duová's fear might just come true.

"Oh, don't worry, you won't be killed like they were." he continued

Aang looked up again in anger. Iris wasn't any better.

"See, if you die you'll just be reborn and the Fire Nation will have to bring its search for the Avatar all over again. So, I'll keep you alive – but just barely."

Iris almost snarled. She'd like to see him try. If she didn't hand him his ass before he even touched Aang. But she stopped herself in the last second. Risking her identity wasn't going to help anyone, especially Aang.

"And the Avatar's companion,"

Iris looked at him, as he stood right in front of her. She pulled her best poker face.

"Hmm," he muttered, looking at her, which sent a chill down her spine. It was an evil look. He was measuring her. Very Lucius Malfoy of him.

"You seem to be a very talented firebender. How could you betray your own nation to help him?!"

Iris almost blinked in surprise. What the fuck was he talking about? But rather than question him, she decided to play along.

"The same way Fire Benders betrayed the natural balance and order."

"You are nothing but a traitor," and he neared her, his eyes leering over her body. She felt disgusted for as long as his eyes roamed over her. "And I will make sure you are brought to justice." he then got closer.

Iris snapped her eyes shut and turned away. This man was making her so uncomfortable.

"You'd make a fine...commodity."

Iris inhaled sharply once she realized what he meant. Anger flared inside her. Dare he touch her, she'd show him how talented of a firebender she could be even if she wasn't one. Whatever she was taught, she wasn't above hurting those who threatened her honor and self-esteem.

He chuckled and pulled back. Iris opened her eyes and glared at him with so much hatred. She was really tempted to hex the hell out of him, but then her once non-existent self-preservation kicked in and she curbed herself.

The man turned to leave, still smirking. And then a gale-force wind knocked him until into the wall where he collapsed in a heap. He shook his head to clear his vision and stood up.

"Blow all the wind you want! Your situation is futile. There is no escaping this fortress – and no one is coming to rescue you." he smirked at them both and then left, slamming the door after him.

"Are you okay?" she heard Aang ask.

"I'm fine." she replied through her teeth, "We need to get outta here."

She closed her eyes and checked around them. No one in the immediate vicinity, just two guards positioned on the other side of the huge thick metal door. She then focused her attention on her shackles and cast an _Alohamora_.

Her wrist shackles opened with a click, followed by her ankle shackles. Iris relaxed, rubbing her wrists. They had started turning a light shade of red.

"Damn," she muttered and walked to Aang. She almost stumbled but didn't focus on it. Whatever those archers shot her with, it was still having effects on her, albeit weakly.

Before she could release Aang, she felt something move inside his tunic.

"What i-" Iris paused when a frog, half-frozen half-awake, jumped down and dragged itself towards the exit. Followed by another frog. and then another. And another. What the hell was Aang doing with frozen frogs in his tunics of all places?! How come he wasn't grossed out?

"What? No! Don't leave frogs! My friends are sick and they need you! Please go back to being frozen!" Aang called.

"What?" she asked.

"That healer said that Sokka and Katara need to suck on those frozen frogs. Their sap will heal them."

"Are you sure that's what she said?" Iris asked a little bewildered.

Aang just nodded back.

"We'll get more of those frogs once we get out of here," she replied and touched Aang's shackles and cast her spell. In another few seconds, the Airbender was free.

"Now what?" Aang asked.

His question was answered by the opening of the door.

Shite!

Iris quickly turned around and pushed Aang behind her. She might not be at her full strength, but they'd have to go through her to get to Aang.

But instead of any soldier or Malfoy twin, it was someone else. A new character. They wore black, head to toe, had a Blue Mask, and held dual swords. They didn't seem Fire Nation in the slightest. Which doesn't mean she'll trust him. Or her.

"Friend or enemy?" she asked.

The guy, she guessed it was a guy since he lacked womanly curves, just stood there, as if studying them.

Iris shared a look with Aang, who shrugged back. But Blue Mask didn't reply.

Finally he turned and motioned for them to follow.

"Friend, maybe?" Aang shrugged.

"Kid, he got dual swords," she replied, pinched her bridge of the nose, inhaled sharply then looked at Blue Mask. He wasn't giving any evil or bad guy vibes unlike their captor or some other people she had met. Guess they could risk trusting him. And if it did go south, she could always obliviate him.

"Fine."

The two walked to him, but Iris stopped just next to him, "If this is some twisted plan to hurt us or recapture, I swear on everything holy here, you'd be in for a world full of pain," she deadpanned.

Blue Mask didn't respond, just walked out. She was just behind Blue Mask, her hand closer to her dagger. Aang was right behind her.

Outside, they walked past the gagged and tied guards at the door.

"My frogs! Come back! And stop thawing out!"

Iris turned to look at Aang, sighed, walked back to him, and pulled him by his arm.

"They need those frogs!" Aang protested.

"Kid, I think they'd rather we make it alive," she replied and turned to face forward to see Blue Mask looking at them.

"What?" she raised a brow.

Blue Mask didn't reply. Iris led Aang in front of her so he wouldn't get distracted and she could keep an eye on both of them. He led them both through the sewer system under the place they were captured.

Iris made a disgusted face at the idea of walking through the sewer but didn't complain. Blue Mask led them out via a grate and into one of the courtyards. And then to a rope tied to the top of the wall.

"Well that's not visible to the eye at all," she snorted as Blue Mask started climbing it. She had Aang climb first and then herself. Blue Mask had almost reached the top when suddenly she felt a large beam of light shot at them.

"There, on the wall!" someone shouted.

"Great," she muttered and quickened her pace. A soldier appeared at the top of the wall they were climbing. He cut the rope and the trio fell down the wall. Aang quickly airbent them to a soft landing. When the dust cleared, Blue Mask unsheathed his swords and pointed at the front doors. The other two nodded and they ran.

"The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates immediately!" Malfoy Twin yelled

The three continued running. Soon Aang passed them both,

"Stay close to me!" he said

The third gate started closing in front of them and there were a bunch of soldiers blocking them. Aang airbent a blast of air that blew them out of the way. Iris's hands reached for her fans. She was tempted to use a _Ventus_ and knock them all off, but she couldn't risk her identity. They thought she was Fire Nation, she'd rather humor that. And how did they even come to that conclusion?

Compared to rest of Fire benders, she had stark contrast of white hair and green eyes, not black hair and hazel eyes. Her skin color could maybe resemble that of Fire Nation. And her features were sharp and prominent, maybe another factor. But other than that, she couldn't really think of it much.

Before they could make to the gate, it closed, closing them in.

Blue Mask was surrounded all by himself, while Iris and Aang had their backs to each other. Aang created a strong whirlwind, knocking the soldiers off of all three of them.

"Plan?" Aang asked in a small voice.

"Get out of here whatever means necessary." she replied as an idea formed in her mind, "I'm making a distraction, stay close you two."

Quickly remembering it, she waved her arms around herself. Soon a storm of fire itself started forming. She started manipulating the firestorm like Dumbledore had done it before in that cave until it completely surrounded her and the other two in a dome-like barrier. She felt several firebenders trying to manipulate that firestorm, but failed.

She smirked and once the storm was there strong and stable, she turned to the two. She touched their arms and cast a disillusionment spell.

"Don't touch them. Don't let them touch you. And do not mutter a word. Clear?"

Aang nodded. So did Blue Mask.

"Good." Iris nodded, raised her arms, and the next moment, dropped the firestorm which dissipated into nothing. Blue mask pulled his swords but seemed surprised when no one attacked him. Or anyone of them.

"They vanished. Look for them! They must not escape!" Someone shouted.

Iris pressed her finger to her lips and indicated them to follow her. She led them to the wall as the three stuck to it.

Wait- she mouthed at them.

"They are not here!"

"They must have tunneled their way out." someone else suggested

They only had to wait 10 minutes, before the huge doors opened. Then she motioned them to follow. They easily slipped out and into the second ring. She motioned them to approach the wall. Traveling as a group might be a risk. So they went separate beelines to the second set of doors, but not too far from each other. Keeping very light footing, the three made their way to the doors. Iris did keep a close eye on both the boys. Blue Mask was the first to reach, followed by Aang and then Iris.

And suddenly she felt nauseous. She leaned against the wall, careful not to touch anyone and tried collecting herself. This was not the time to get nauseous. She felt a hand on her arm and looked down. It was Aang. And Blue Mask behind him.

You okay?- he mouthed.

Iris nodded and together they crossed the second door without any issues. They clearly made their way to the first door, which was still closed. Okay, that would be a problem.

They were barely 2 meters away from the third wall when her nausea hit harder and she fell on her knees. What was going on? Her breaths shortened and she started sweating. She could taste the bile in the end of her throat. Gulping, she tried to push back and checked herself over. And then she found the issue. the green paste thing they shot her with. Had to be some kind of poison.

"Iris?" Aang whispered, kneeling in front of her

"Poison" she grunted. It had to be. Whatever they shot her with was affecting her.

"There!"

Iris looked and grunted. She must have accidentally dropped the charm when nausea hit her.

"Can you make it?" Aang whispered.

Iris closed her eyes, took a deep long breath, curbed her nausea, again, and stood up. Her legs seemed weak for a few moments but she didn't pay attention. Quickly adapting, she pulled her fans. Blue Mask drew his swords. Four firebenders unleashed their flame on them, but Aang jumped in front of them and airbent the flames away.

"Hold your fire!" Malfoy twin said, "the Avatar and his companion must be captured alive!"

Before Iris could register anything, she felt something sharp against her throat. Managed to look down without moving her head and there was a fucking sword at her throat. She looked to her right and there was Aang, similar.

Malfoy twin appeared. And he looked pissed. All the firebenders became defensive but didn't attack.

"Open the gate." he gritted his teeth.

"Admiral, what are you doing?" One of them asked.

"Let them out, now!"

The gate opened and Blue Mask backed out with swords still at their throats. He continued backing away from the fortress.

Once they were pretty far away, Iris quietly reached for her dagger. She refused herself and Aang to be captured just after they broke out.

Before she could make a move on Blue Mask, an arrow hit him right on the forehead, causing him to collapse.

Her eyes widened. she shared a frightened look with Aang.

"Cover us," she muttered and Aand bent a huge cloud of dust around them.

While Aang did that, Iris reached and pulled the already displaced mask.

She gasped, "No way" she muttered

"Zuko saved us?" Aang asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm having trouble believing." she muttered, "But we are leaving"

* * *

They found a nice hiding spot in the woods.

Iris placed Zuko down. And then she retreated behind some bushes and retched. Up until her nausea was no longer present. She produced some water, cleaned her mouth, and once she felt alright, she walked back to them. Her first thought was leaving, but her morals told her to stay.

"Kid, you need to leave," she said, cleared her throat. Aang opened his mouth to protest, but she continued,

"Katara and Sokka need you more. Get those frozen frogs and make sure they...ugh," she pulled a disgusted face, "do whatever they need to do. I'll see that Buttercup, here, wakes up fine."

Aang sighed, nodded, and left.

Iris looked down at the unconscious prince. She sighed and sat a few feet from him. She closed her eyes and placed her fists together, trying to concentrate her best. She wanted to stabilize her core and get rid of the after-effects of the poison.

She felt a shift of energy around her. But didn't open her eyes. This wasn't like before. She concentrated more to realize that the shift of energy wasn't she traveling to the spirit world. It was Zuko waking up. His energy, now that she focused on it, was a nice warm reddish-orange. Did all firebenders have such?

* * *

When Zuko came to consciousnesses, he checked if he was bound or free. Free. He felt the rough ground underneath him. It was so silent. And a cool breeze to his face. his face? What happened to his mask? Slightly panicked, but calming himself, he slowly opened his eyes to look. he was hit with a bright sky and the green canopy. He vaguely heard the birds chirp.

He raised his head and looked around. And he spotted her. The white-haired girl. She was sitting a bit far from him, legs crossed in the lotus position, her fists together near her stomach, eyes closed and relaxed. The soft morning breeze hit her pale face and softly flew her white hair. And then he felt it. She was radiating energy.

No wonder the Avatar was powerful with her around.

Her shirt was still torn at the shoulder with a red stain. Blood, he realized.

But what was she doing here next to him? And where was the Avatar?

Iris exhaled, "If you are looking for Avatar," she opened her eyes "He's not here. We are not that stupid. To be rescued from a Fire Nation prison only to be captured by the Prince himself." she deadpanned.

He was looking at her. She looked back,

"Why'd you do it?"

Zuko didn't say anything.

"why'd you save the Avatar? and by extension me?" she pulled her knees closer to her chest.

Zuko still didn't answer.

Iris shrugged. She tried to stand up and quickly caught Zuko's fist before he could shoot gout of fire. Her palm started burning, but Iris just concentrated on absorbing that heat energy. Like she had done back with Hei-Bai's forest. She felt some warmth travel up her arm and then stopped. At the same time, she cast a small obliviate, mainly to erase his memories of her using spells.

"Really? Is this how you say thank you?" she raised a brow and pulled back her hand. She looked at it. Her palm had turned red, and the skin had started to peel but there wasn't much damage.

She looked back at him, "You saved me and Avatar. For that, thank you, even if it was unnecessary. Also, when those archers knocked you out cold, we saved you. We could have left you there, but..." she shrugged, "we are the good guys. So consider us even."

She got up and started walking away. Once she was sure she was out of his sight, she apparated.

She almost stumbled back at their campsite.

"I was starting to get worried." Aang looked at her in worry.

"I'm good, kid," she smiled.

"Did he say anything?"

Iris shrugged, "Wh-"

"Were you in on it?!" Sokka demanded.

"Excuse me?" she looked at him, confused

"Sucking on frozen frogs!"

Iris blinked. "Oh. That," she muttered. Sokka looked way better than she left him. And so did Katara.

"so I guess the frogs worked?" she asked.

"Did the frogs work? They were gross! and disgusting! and... and...ugh!" Sokka shivered in disgust, "How could you make us suck on frozen frogs?"

"Sokka, I didn't make you do anything. If anyone did, It's kid over there."

Sokka glared at Aang, scowled turned, and walked away, "I'm going to rinse my mouth. Spirits, will I ever get this cleaned?" he walked to the river below their camp

Iris looked at Katara, "You okay?"

"Better than before."

Iris nodded, "I need some rest," and started removing her gear only to pause. She frowned and patted her midsection, waistband, even boots.

"Everything okay?" Aang asked.

Iris frowned, pulling her one fan, "Other is missing." Now more worried, she quickly removed her shirt and checked under the tank top. Nothing.

"You sure did not drop it?" Ang asked

Iris shook her head, "It was tucked tight. The only reason I can see is someone took it out."

"who would do that?" Katara asked

Iris's eyes widened and she shared a look with Aang. They both had the same thought. Since she had both her fans even after they left the prison, left only one suspect-Zuko.

"What happened to your hand?" Katara asked

Iris looked down at her right hand where her palm had burnt.

"It's nothing" she replied

Katara looked at her worried, "Come on. Maybe I can heal it."

Iris shared one final look with Aang. What was to happen now?

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter so far.
> 
> Do lemme know how this turned out. Umm, another thing I wanted to say that I'd be taking a break for about 2 weeks before I update. Like I mentioned before, I'm undergoing some anxious times and I just need some time out to stabilize my mental health.
> 
> Just wanted to clear this out. Thank you for your support.
> 
> Do review.


	11. The Fortuneteller

Iris was having a really hard time. She tried not to focus on the bead of sweat trickling down her forehead, or Neva and Momo making their noise while playing or Sooka squawking every once in a while, trying and failing to catch fish for food.

She grit her teeth, shut her eyes harder, pressed her knuckles more, focusing more and more to get to the spirit world.

"Momo! Neva! Play somewhere else!"

"Ugh...gaw...aaaaah!"

And that was her last straw. She opened her eyes and threw her hands up.

"I cannot do it!" she exclaimed

That grabbed the attention of everyone else, who looked at her a bit surprised. Neva stopped and landed on the ground, causing Momo, who was chasing her, to almost collide with her. But she was too frustrated to focus on that.

"Is she okay?" Sokka asked the other two, who just shrugged.

"I'm...I'm...ugh!" she grunted.

"Is she struggling to get in the spirit world?" Katara asked.

Aang nodded.

"Iris, maybe you need to calm down." Aang tried.

"Calm down?! I've been trying for weeks! Weeks! To get back so I can learn something from the _only_ energybending master for me to realize that I'm so bad at everything I can't even get to the spirit world on my own. I suck at this. How am I supposed to save my entire clan when I can't even get in the spirit world by myself?!"

The other three blinked.

"You're just being too hard on yourself, Iris." Sokka tried, but then shut up at the glare Iris threw at him.

She closed her eyes, sighed, and settled on the ground, pinching the bridge of her nose. She took a few deep breaths.

"I'm so sorry for yelling. It's just..." she exhaled, "I'm sorry"

Katara walked to her and crouched,

"Maybe you need some break from this trying to get in the spirit world. You are tensed and stressed."

"Guess you're right," she sighed and looked at Katara with a small smile, "Thanks, Kat."

Katara chuckled.

"Iris, Katara, I made something for you!" Aang skipped to them and opened his hands, "This might cheer you up"

In his hands were two similar woven white bands. One had a flower for pendant while the other had a beautiful shell.

"They are so beautiful!l" Katara gushed

"They are amazing, kid." Iris smiled

"Hey! Where's the fishing line?" Sokka asked

"Oh, I didn't think you would need it, Sokka," Aang replied, showing him the woven bands.

"Ah, it's all tangled!"

"Not tangled – woven." Aang corrected him.

"So," Iris interrupted them, "Who gets who?"

Aang extended the flower one to Katara, "I was thinking of making a necklace, and then I realized you already wore one." he nervously rubbed the back of his head.

Katara smiled, "Thanks, Aang. I love it."

Aang smiled. And was that a blush she saw?

Katara wrapped the band around her wrist and tied it.

"This is for you"

Iris picked the shell band, thought for a minute, and then wrapped it around her wrist too. She found it ironic that Katara, a waterbender, got a flower necklace while she, with a flower namesake, got the shell one. It didn't matter though. it the thought that counted.

"Thanks, kid." Iris smiled and placed a small kiss on his cheek, "It is gorgeous"

"Great, Aang. Maybe instead of saving the world, you can go into the jewelry making business." Sokka taunted

"I don't see why I can't do both." Aang shrugged

"So, how do I look?"

Katara was raising her wrist, while also posing a little. Iris chuckled as she tied the strings. For some reason, one she knew, Aang looked at Katara a bit dumbfounded with a light pink warmth coating his cheeks. He used his left forefinger to loosen his collar while staring at Katara and gulped.

Iris so wanted to laugh, it was so cute! But then let Aang have his moment.

"You mean all of you or just your wrist? I mean, uh, both look great." he stuttered

And Iris couldn't hold it. She snorted but quickly covered it with a cough. The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass Aang.

"Smoochie, smoochie, someone's in love."

Iris and others looked at Sokka, who emerged from the lake, holding a fish as if about to give it a kiss. The fish flipped in his hands, knocking him back into the lake.

Iris laughed at that, "I'm afraid that the fish doesn't feel the same about you, Sokka"

Katara laughed while Sokka grumbled.

"I...well..." Aang rubbed the back of his head

"Stop teasing him, Sokka." Katara scolded Sokka, "Aang's just a good friend." she reached and rubbed Aang's head, "A sweet little guy – just like Momo." and she rubbed Momo's head just as she had Aang's a moment before.

...And that's how you get friend-zoned. Iris mentally sighed. It was Ron and Hermione all over again. Just this time, they were a bit younger and there wasn't any ego or Victor Krum or Lavender Brown involved. She really hoped there wouldn't be any Krum or Brown in their future either. Why was she always a part of such relationships?

"Thanks," Aang replied, dejected.

Katara made her way back to Iris and sat down.

Iris leaned towards Katara,

"Hey, Kat," she whispered,

"Hmm?" Katara looked at her,

"Aang wanted to make you a necklace. Please tell me he knows about betrothal necklaces."

Katara's eyes widened for a quick moment and her cheeks turned red. That told Iris that Katara had not realized it before. As she had learned while staying in Southern Water Tribe, instead of giving a ring to propose for marriage, their tradition was to give a necklace with a hand-carved pendant. Sure Katara was still 2 years younger than what would be considered eligible marriage age, but still.

"Someone's being attacked by a platypus bear!"

That grabbed everyone's attention.

The three rushed to the rock to look over what was going on. The huge platypus bear was baring its teeth and rearing itself on its hind legs. The bear was threatening a man in blue who smiled calmly at the advancing monster. The bear as it advanced, swinging at the man, who dodged the blows by casually stepping backward, hands behind his back. The bear swung a few more times while Aang jumped up onto a rock behind the bear.

"Well, hello there." the man greeted Aang, dodging another swing, "Nice day, isn't it?"

"Make noise, it'll run off!" Aang shouted

"No, play dead, he'll lose interest!" Sokka shouted. The bear swung again and missed.

"Run downhill, then climb a tree!" Katara added

"No, punch him in the bill!"

"And then run in zigzags!"

"No need. It's going to be fine." the man smiled. The bear swung again, swiping a large chunk of wood out of a nearby tree as the calm man ducked just in time.

Aang shot into the air from off his nearby rock up over the head of the bear. He landed, putting himself between the calm man and the bear, and airbent up a wall of air that momentarily pushes the beast backward.

"Whoa there!" Aang tried to calm the bear, but the reared up and roared, only to have Appa rear up behind him and roar, sending quite a visible shiver down the bear's back.

The bear dropped an egg out his behind and ran into the river and swam away. Sokka rushed and picked the large egg.

"Mmm! Lunch!" he sniffed the egg, then looked at the calm man with a haughty look. "Lucky for you we came along."

"Thanks, but everything was already under control. Not to worry, Aunt Wu predicted I'd have a safe journey." the man smiled, put his hands in a position of prayer, and bowed slightly.

"Aunt who?" Aang asked.

"No, Aunt Wu. She's the fortuneteller from my village. Awful nice knowing your future." the man replied.

Iris raised a brow. Fortuneteller? Were they even legit around here?

"Wow, it must be. That explains why you were so calm." Katara said

"Or it was sheer dumb luck," Iris added

Sokka nodded at her, "Exactly. The fortuneteller was wrong! You didn't have a safe journey, you were almost killed!"

"But I wasn't. All right, have a good one!" He gestured in farewell and began to walk away, but turned back again. "Oh, and Aunt Wu said if I met any travelers to give them this." he handed Aang a long, thin wrapped object and walked away.

"Maybe we should go see Aunt Wu and learn our fortunes. It could be fun." Katara suggested

"Oh come on, fortunetelling is nonsense," Sokka said

Aang shredded the object's wrapping to reveal an umbrella and opened it.

"What do ya know, an umbrella!" Aang exclaimed

Suddenly the sky darkened in an instant and thunder resonated as it began to pour. Katara smiled and waterbent the rain in a sparkling arc above her head.

"That proves it." She smiled and ran under the umbrella with Aang.

Sokka held the egg above his head to try and deflect the rain, "No it doesn't – you can't really tell the future."

"I guess you're not really getting wet then," Katara replied

The egg slipped out of Sokka's hands and in his attempts to grab it again it flew up into the air and landed back on his head, breaking in the process.

"Come on." Iris placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder, both soaking in the rain.

"You wanna come under?" Aang asked her.

Iris smiled, "I haven't felt a nice rain in a while. I think I'll be enjoying it." she smiled, pushing back her side bangs.

"Of course she predicted it was gonna rain. The sky's been gray all day." Sokka grumbled

"Just admit you might be wrong and you can come under the umbrella." Katara said, "Unless you want to enjoy the rain like Iris."

Sokka frowned, "Look, I'm going to predict the future now." he made funny motions and in an exaggerated voice, he said, "It's going to keep drizzling."

He folded his arms across his chest and assumed an expression of defiance.

"See!"

The rain instantly stopped and the sun appeared.

"Huh," Iris snorted, "What would you know? Maybe you do have a gift. But the opposite of what you say would happen."

"You believe in this nonsense?" Sokka asked her as the four of them made their way towards the village.

"Sure, why not?" Iris shrugged, moving her hair away from her shoulder as Neva perched there. She quickly cast a drying spell over her clothes and tied her hair in a ponytail, aligning the side bangs.

"Why?" Sokka demanded

"Remember that prophecy I told you about, it was predicted by a seer. I don't know about Fortunetelling but telling the future isn't impossible."

"What's a seer?" Katara asked

"In my world, seers are the people who are born with the ability of sight. They can see people's futures."

"And do they come true?" Sokka asked, broodingly.

"Most of the time, yeah they do." she nodded

"But you are talking about energybenders. This woman isn't. You are the last and the only energybender left. How can she see our future?" Sokka asked

"Who knows, this woman might have had energybending predecessors? I don't know. And that's why my interest is piqued"

They finally found the village. Walking through the main gates, they walked into the village square. And in front of a circular door of one of the buildings, some sort of herald dressed in black greeted them.

"Aunt Wu is expecting you." The herald bowed a little.

"Really?" Katara asked while Iris raised a brow. This Aunt Wu lady seemed a lot like Trelawney. She just hoped she wouldn't be as much of a bat-shit crazy woman.

The three walked forward as Sokka made a sound of disgust. The herald closed this door behind them as they walked in. A young girl in a pink kimono and huge hair braids that stuck straight out from the sides of her head entered.

"My name is Meng and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant." she bowed and suddenly her eyes widened, "Well, hello there."

Iris, who was checking the house, suddenly looked when she heard that trying-to-be-flirty tone.

"Hello," Aang replied uninterested

"Can I get you some tea or some of Aunt Wu's special bean curd puffs?" Meng asked as the four settled along with the pillows. Neva hopped onto Iris's lap and curled around. She was getting bigger and as of late, couldn't perch on Rose's shoulder much.

"I'll try a curd puff," Sokka said

Meng gave Sokka a heisman, "Just a second." and then she bent down to address Aang, "So what's your name?"

"Aang."

"That rhymes with Meng! And you've got some pretty big ears, don't you?"

"I... guess..." Aang replied, confused, and conscious.

"Oh, don't be modest. They're huge!" Sokka spread his arms wide to demonstrate just how huge they are, as Aang looked angrily at Sokka. He put his hands over his ears as if to smash them down to an acceptable size.

"Well Aang, it is very nice to meet you. Very nice." Meng gave a saccharine smile.

"Likewise," Aang replied.

Meng left, albeit a little shyly.

Iris mentally chuckled. Was this how Aang reacted to being flirted to? Wait. Did he even know that Meng was flirting?

"I can't believe we're here in the house of nonsense," Sokka grumbled, crossing his arms

"Hey," Iris chided, "Can you not insult a woman while sitting in her house?"

"Try to keep an open mind, Sokka. There are things in this world that just can't be explained. Wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into your future?" Katara asked

"It would be nice to have some bean curd puffs," Sokka replied

Soon Meng appeared with a tray of refreshments. Only then another girl exited from the inner room, who rushed over to Meng.

"Oh Meng! Aunt Wu says I'm going to meet my true love! He's going to give me a rare panda lily." the woman gushed

"That's so romantic." Meng replied and looked over her shoulder presumably at Aang, "I wonder if my true love will give me a rare flower."

"Good luck with that!" Aang earnestly said.

Iris wanted to laugh. Merlin! How naive were kids! Iris shook her head fondly.

Whatever the woman said to Meng had Meng push her away and then brought over the refreshment. She tripped and almost dumped the food on Aang, but he helped steady her grip on the tray. His hands now held hers as they together held the tray. They shared a moment looking into each other's eyes.

"Enjoy your snack," Meng said, embarrassed, and rushed away. That proved to be the last straw as Iris almost fell down laughing hard.

She laughed up until she heaved and sat straight, wiping a few stray tears that escaped.

"What's funny?" Aang asked

"Oh kid," she chuckled, pushing past a few stranded hairs back, "you are too cute." she grinned

"Why?" Katara asked

Iris waved them off, "You'll understand when you'll grow up."

"Welcome young travelers." a voice came over.

The four looked at, whom they guessed was Aunt Wu, enter in a yellow or gold kimono looking serene.

"Now, who's next? Don't be shy." she smiled

Iris looked at the three. Both the boys looked uninterested.

"I guess that's me." Katara sighed, got up, and followed Aunt Wu to the inner room.

Once they were alone again, Sokka leaned back, relaxed, chomping on the curd puffs.

"Not bad. Not bad. Mmmm!" he nodded and offered one to Aang.

"I'm good on puffs." Aang pushed the puff away, "So...what do you think they're talking about back there?"

Iris shrugged, taking a curd puff for herself. She broke a small piece and gave it to Neva.

"Depends on what Katara wants to know about her future"

"Boring stuff, I'm sure." Sokka said, "Love. Who she's going to marry. How many babies she's gonna have."

"Hey, love isn't boring," Iris looked at Sokka, "Why, wouldn't you like to know who you'd end up with?"

Sokka shrugged, "Not really"

Iris rolled her eyes and looked at Aang, "Why'd you ask?"

Aang stopped biting his fingernails and looked at her a bit surprised, "N-No reason" he stuttered.

Iris didn't believe him. For one, he was biting his nails which he never did. And then, he had stuttered.

"You sure?" Iris prodded.

Aang nodded, looking a little restless and then stood up abruptly, "Well, I've gotta find a bathroom!" and he ran off.

Iris looked at the direction he left and frowned. She looked down at Neva,

"How much you wanna bet that he went to eavesdrop?" she whispered

Neva also looked at the direction Aang left and nodded before taking another bite from Iris's curd puff.

"Hey!" Iris frowned and pulled her puff away, "Have your own"

Neva almost frowned and then flew to take a curd puff just as Momo tried to steal the entire basket under Sokka's arm.

The two waited for a while, just sitting. While Iris had a strong inclination that Aunt Wu was a real deal, she wasn't believing her completely.

Aang returned 10 minutes later, too long for a bathroom break, and launched himself into the air, visibly ecstatic. His expression was very similar to that of a cat who got its canary.

"Looks like someone had a pretty good bathroom break." Sokka teased

Aang looked at them both, a bit flustered.

"Yeh, when I was in there..."

"I don't even wanna know!" Sokka interrupted

Iris looked slyly at Aang, "Sokka's right. It was just a bathroom trip, wasn't it, kid? Had to be pretty boring"

Aang flustered more. Before he could defend himself, Katara and Aunt Wu entered,

"Who's next?" Aunt Wu asked

Sokka stood up and stretched his arms, "Okay, let's get this over with."

Aunt Wu looked at Sokka a bit uninterested, "Your future is full of struggle and anguish, most of it self-inflicted."

"But, you didn't read my palms or anything!"

"I don't need to – it's written all over your face."

Sokka looked extremely displeased.

Aunt Wu looked at the other two, "Who wants to come?"

Aang and Iris shared a look,

Iris just raised a brow, "So?"

"You can go," Aang replied, "I'll wait"

She looked at Aunt Wu

"It's me, then." Iris stood up and was led to the inner room, the door closed behind them.

Aunt Wu asked her to sit on a cushion and then took a seat opposite to her.

"so, how are we gonna do it?" she asked

Aunt Wu looked at her in mild surprise, "You don't seem as excited as your friend, at the same time not as disinterested as her brother"

Iris shrugged, "I've had people tell me my future and they've come true. I'm just curious about your...ways"

Aunt Wu nodded in understanding, "So what do you want to know?"

"Let's start with how are you able to do it"

Aunt Wu smiled, "My ancestors were born to Energybenders. It's sad that only a handful of people are even aware that they once existed ever since their extinction. My ancestors were non-benders and as a result, ostracized by their clan. The sight was the only ability that my ancestors received and has been passed down generations."

Iris nodded and took a deep breath, sitting straighter, "Alright. Do your stuff,"

Aunt Wu smiled and asked to extend her hand. Iris did. Aunt Wu ran her fingers over her palms.

"Your life had always been filled with trials and tests. And you always turned victorious. But, now you have been struggling. That struggle will end quite soon. In years to come, you will become one of the strongest benders the world has ever seen. A master in your element. Your power will grow exponentially in the coming times. And you will be the driving force for propelling this world into a new era."

Iris inhaled sharply, "So..." she drawled, "Are we talking new era as in after Ozai is defeated or after Ozai wins, by any chance?"

Aunt Wu frowned, looking over her hands once again, "That is not clear." she looked more properly, "Your palm lines are quite blurred. That is all I can read, dear."

"Oh."

"But there's another way," Aunt Wu smiled and handed her a bowl of bones. Not the weirdest thing she had seen.

"Pick one and place it in the fire."

Iris looked at the fire in question then picked one and tossed it in the fire. And soon it started cracking.

"Hmm, interesting. I've never had this before. I believe your future is yet to be written. Your destiny is yet to be determined."

Iris nodded with a sigh.

"Want to know about your love life?" Aunt Wu asked

Iris shrugged, a little upset, "Humor me"

"Love is a slow pace, and that is alright. As long as you are patient, this is not a bad fortune. You will need to work hard, but you will definitely be rewarded for your efforts." Aunt Wu chuckled, "Those with a person of interest should brace themselves for a long war of love, so equip yourself with patience. Both of you are emotionally unstable and socially inept, just not in similar ways, so be careful. A powerful bender but someone you don't get along with at first. But with lots of patience and determination, you can make it work. You'll have a bit of common ground to build the foundations or your relation. You both will hav-"

"I think that's enough." Iris interrupted "I'm good. Thanks."

Aunt Wu looked like she wanted to say something, but just pressed her lips and nodded.

Iris stood up and walked out, followed by Aunt Wu.

"So how was it?" Katara asked

"Great," Iris deadpanned and went to wear her boots, "I need some fresh air." and she walked out.

She walked until she reached the village square where she found a tea shop. Great. She entered the shop, ordered herself a tea, settled in a corner, her back to the wall. Neva flew in, settled on her knee, and started preening herself. Her tea got served and she took a sip, slowly relaxing.

Iris took a deep breath. She had forgotten how heartbreaking future-telling could turn at times. She might not have seemed as excited as Katara, but deep inside she was very anxious. She really hoped she'd get to hear that she won't turn out to be Ozai's weapon. Period. Full stop. End of discussion.

But as always, no, what she wanted won't happen. There was still a possibility that she could end up destroying the world by doing Ozai's bidding. She was pretty sure somewhere in the universe, Destiny was laughing her ass off at her while flipping her off.

She inhaled and ran her hand over her face. She then recalled her love life predictions. A strong bender. Someone she doesn't get along with. Her first thought was Draco Malfoy, for some reason. And he did kind of fit the bill.

He was a powerful wizard. They didn't get along very well, with him bullying her a lot during their school days. They did have some common ground/similarities.

Following the end of the war, after she had openly vouched for Narcissa and Draco while making sure Lucius went to Azkaban, Draco had met her once. It was super awkward at first. She didn't really remember a lot of details, but they did end up having lunch together. And it was then she had realized how shy, withdrawn and socially awkward the real Draco Malfoy was. Especially when he wasn't bullying others or wasn't controlled by his asshole father.

That was the only encounter they had where foul words, jabs, insults, threats, and taunts weren't exchanged. And she liked to think that they could have turned out to be decent, if not good, friends. They had a few things in common. They both were born in rich, powerful, and influential families. To both of them, their family honor meant a lot. They were both seekers for their respective house teams. Both weren't the ones to back down from any fight. And the worst and most prominent one, they both shared a deeply disturbing connection with Voldemort, which had done a big number on both of their psyches.

Iris took a few deep breaths. She wanted to go back, at least once. See how things turned out. Sure she never even thought about having a relationship with Draco, but what if...She shook her head. She had a lot of things to do before she even thought about getting into a relationship. And that too with Draco Malfoy of all people.

But what if there was someone else who fits the bill. She hadn't made a lot of enemies around this world. Just one- Fire Nation.

She shrugged. Future-telling could be so confusing at times.

She asked for a refill when she realized she had drunk all of her tea. She just sat there, lost in thoughts.

Her bigger challenge was to get to the Spirit World. And how was she to do it?

As she mulled over everything Duová had told her, something clicked. Avatars have a deep connection with the Spirit World and hence came an idea.

Once she finished that too, she paid for the tea and walked out to see the boys in the village square.

"Hey," she called approaching them. "What's going on?"

Aang looked a little upset for some reason while Sokka looked like he was going to explode. And then he exploded.

"I can't believe all these saps. Someone really needs to scream some sense at them..." and telling her everything about how the villagers depended on 'that crazy old woman' instead of checking the volcano themselves and on and on. Once he was done, Iris kept a hand on his shoulder

"Sokka, if nothing happened in 20 years, maybe she's right about this year too. Where's Katara?"

"Oh, she went to ask more from Aunt Wu," Sokka replied

Iris nodded and looked at Aang,

"You got anything to do?" she asked

Aang looked at her and shook his head.

"Help me get into the spirit world? Maybe I can make that connection with the Avatar next to me."

Aang thought for a second before he nodded. He led her to a nice quiet place in the woods near the village.

"Here?" Iris asked when Aang stopped at a small clearing.

Aang nodded. He settled on the ground in the lotus position. Iris sat opposite to him and followed him. She closed her eyes and relaxed.

"Relax and focus on my energy. It should help you." Aang said

Iris nodded to herself and started focusing on energy around her. She quickly found Aang's energy glowing a gorgeous white. And then it glowed brighter, blinding white. Iris focused on it.

And then, about 5 minutes of immense concentration on Aang's energy, she felt a shift in energy in her surroundings. Still skeptical, but a bit excited, she opened her one eye. No longer was there any green woods. Nope. She was back in the valley.

"This place is beautiful."

Iris opened both her eyes and looked next to her, where Aang was standing, looking around. She got up and whooped,

"Amazing." she grinned and looked at Aang, rushed to him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you so so much!"

"It's alright."

"I see you brought a friend,"

Iris pulled and the two looked at the source of the voice-Duová.

Iris smiled, "Hello, Duová. I'd like you to meet Aang, the current Avatar."

Aang bowed, "Master Duová"

Duová smiled and returned the bow, "Avatar Aang," she pulled up, "It's an honor to meet you."

"It's an honor to meet you too. I've never met an energybending master before." Aang smiled,

Duová smiled and then looked at Iris, "Hello, Iris"

Iris just smiled,

And suddenly there was an awkward silence. No one knew what to say. Duová probably wanted to say a lot of things but for some reason was silent.

"Ugh..." Aang rubbed the back of his head, "Master Duová, are there any places I should be familiar with?"

"Xai Bau's grove is quite serene this time around, young Avatar."

Aang nodded with a huge smile, "Thank you." and he then turned to Iris, "I'll meet you back in the physical world."

Iris nodded and he ran off. Still supporting that smile, she turned towards Duová, who was now seated at the base of the same tree she woke last time.

"You look chipper," Duová commented.

"Well, I managed to get here, finally!" Iris exclaimed and sat down opposite to Duová.

She chuckled, "I expected a sooner appearance. It's been weeks since we last met."

"Yeah, that could have happened if you had told me how and what I am supposed to do." Iris raised a brow and folded her arms.

Duová smiled, "How are you supposed to learn if I tell you everything?"

Iris paused, "Point." she replied

"I've been observing you in those past weeks you failed to show," Duová started, ignoring iris' scowl, "I'm quite impressed by your ability to control fire. It's not often that energybenders are able to manipulate other elements with so much ease. But not unheard of."

Iris shrugged, "I just know a couple of fire spells. One air spell. Water and earth, I'm below average, if not worse."

"Practice is the key. Always remember that."

"I will."

"I was thinking of starting your training in manipulating human energy."

"Aren't we rushing in? I still have a lot to cover up before I can even think of learning that."

Duová smiled,

"You've already started learning. The way you absorbed the Fire Prince's energy before he could shoot flames at you. And it isn't as easy as it sounds. If I'll start teaching you now, it might take you months to properly master energybending. I can't be there for you all the time, Iris. I can just guide you in the right direction."

Iris sighed and rubbed her temple,

"A copper for your thoughts?"

She sighed, "I'm just having some severe anxiety." Iris answered truthfully.

"Then why were you trying to get in the spirit world?"

"I've been trying for days, but in vain." she shrugged, "I thought I could give this a try. I didn't really think it would work."

Duová smiled again, "Things happen when we least expect them to." she looked at her "Since I can't give you the practical session unless you are ready, physically and mentally, I'll tell you the basics. Despite our element, we follow the rules of the universe. Energy can not be created and it cannot be destroyed. Only transferred from one form to another. And we are the conduit. We can convert energy in whatever way we see fit.

Bending a human's energy isn't very different. We use their internal energy and convert it into another form. If you practice well, you can learn to store that energy inside you up until a certain limit."

Iris nodded back in understanding.

"For beginners, physical contact proves best to absorb another person's energy. Something you've already tried."

"And errored." At Duová's raised eyebrow, she pouted a little, "My hand burnt. Thankfully Katara healed me."

"Life is all about trials and errors," Duová said

Iris just rolled her eyes.

"What is important is the lesson you learn from them."

"And..." Iris asked

Duová smiled, "Impatience will get you nowhere. You need to learn to be patient. Energybending requires concentration, patience, and understanding of the art. I just cannot rush through this all."

Iris sighed, "Alright"

"Close your eyes."

Iris followed.

"Now, feel your energy. Your body's energy in the physical world."

Iris concentrated on the link she had with the physical world while trying to stay in the spirit world. She then felt herself, but it was more of a distant echo like thing.

"Now feel the energy of everything around you. Including the Avatar."

She tried to be more precise. She channeled her energy on the weak connection she had managed to make and concentrated.

And then she could feel it. The trees. The animals. And Aang. His energy was still a blinding white, so he was still in the spirit world.

"Now try to feel every single shift in energy."

She tried. The more she contacted, she could feel the wind energy around her. Even the sunlight through the canopy. And she felt light in her head. it was too much for her.

"Use the spirit energy around you to empower you."

Iris almost didn't hear that, but somehow she did. Taking a deep breath, she tried to absorb the spirit energy and keeping herself awake and attentive.

She concentrated more. She could feel everything happening in the physical world while being in the spirit world.

And she suddenly felt a small, significant shift in Aang's energy. It dimmed. He had returned to the physical world. She opened her eyes and looked at Duová. And suddenly felt dizzy,

"Next time onwards, try not to break the link as quickly as you did. It may hurt you."

Iris nodded, holding her head but then looked at Duová, "Aang just returned. And I'm starting a headache, I'm sorry."

Duová just nodded, "Understandable, dear. All you have to do is practice these techniques an-"

"Sorry to interrupt you," Iris said "But how am I gonna practice it? I cannot try to absorb another bender's energy for trial purposes. What if I messed up and accidentally took their bending or something? What if I absorbed more than I could contain?"

"No one said it was going to be easy. And it doesn't have to be on others. Energybending, first and foremost, is bending your own energy to its utmost potential. You have good control over your own energy. But there's a lot of room for improvement. Absorbing energy requires concentration. Very precise concentration."

Iris nodded, biting on her lip then looked down,

"I want to ask something if that's okay?"

Duová nodded with a hum,

"Why didn't you say anything with Aang around? You waited till he left."

"The Avatar is not supposed to learn of our bending ways."

"I'm aware. But the Avatar wasn't gifted with that ability. He wouldn't be able to learn energybending even if he tried. That was the reason that Avatar wasn't born into the Energy Clan. Energy is the only element they cannot bend!"

Duová just gave her a poker face.

Iris grunted and folded her arms with a huff.

"Never mind." she muttered, "Forget I said any of that."

A calm silence surrounded them,

"Your mind is way more clouded now than before."

Iris sighed, "I'm anxious, scared, no terrified and no one is there to tell me that it's gonna be okay. I know how it sounds, all needy and selfish, but I'm not afraid to admit what I'm feeling. I just found out that I could, still, end the world if Ozai got to know about me. And...and..." she grunted, "I have no clue what I'm doing."

"What about the Avatar and your companions?"

"They are children, Duová. All I have access to are children, who wouldn't understand my issues. Or animals. Not the best conversationalists." she paused pressing her lips in a thin line

"Right now, Aang's biggest issue is his crush on Katara. Katara's more worried about what she should have for lunch or dinner and is constantly depending on Aunt Wu. Sokka's worried about proving Aunt Wu wrong. They don't see things the way I do. I understand that they are kids and they need to have fun. But I'm worried about how things would turn out. What if we didn't get to the North Pole in time? What if Zuko got us first? What if..." she inhaled sharply, "what if I'm forced to bid for Ozai to save someone."

Duová just hummed,

"When I first signed for this, I thought after everything I've been through, this would be easy, like a cake-walk. I was wrong. It's not being in charge of three children that scares me. It's that...I've never been on my own. Ever since the beginning of my adventures, I've always had either Hermione or Ron or both by my side. Even Neville, Luna, Ginny, and the twins. They were with me through my every thick and thin. And now I'm here, being the oldest in this group where everyone looks up to me for advice and support and reassurances...and I suck at them. I'm not the most mature or responsible person around. I constantly ignore the warning signs to give the kids what they want, so they can have a childhood outside of fighting a war, which ends up biting my arse later. I couldn't even comfort Aang when his guilt was eating him up. I let Sokka go out in that storm that got him sick. I let Aang go all alone to get the cure which ended up us both getting captured by Fire Nation. I..."

Her eyes were starting to prickle. She sniffed and blinked back her tears, but a few still escaped. She just couldn't stop the tears. She could feel her hands trembling, but stuffed them in her lap. She could feel a weird weight on her chest. What was happening to her?

"Are you regretting leaving your homeworld?"

Iris looked at her, surprised by the question, and shook her head, "I had to leave. I had to find out who I really was. Who I was without a maniac trying to end me or a prophecy outlining my next move. But this is not what I expected. Not that I'm going to back down or anything now. I was a part of this since the beginning. I'm going to be a part of this until the end. I promised to help Aang every way possible."

"I recently heard someone say that talking about your problems helps."

Iris scoffed, sniffing once, "They do. They most certainly do. But who is there to listen to me? I listen to the problems the kids have because I can help. I've grown through that stage, I've seen or experienced those issues. Something similar if not the same. I can guide them through. The vice-versa ain't true. I'm frustrated, irritated, anxious, and Merlin knows what else. The kids won't get my problems. Who am I to talk to? And look up to for advice and reassurances?" Iris looked at Duová.

"Despite being with three amazing people, I feel so alone, Duová." she sighed

Duová sighed and kept a hand on Iris's shoulder, "I'm sorry you feel that way. Is there any way I can help?"

"why would you do that?" Iris blinked in confusion

Duová smiled, "In your own words, bottling up your feelings is not gonna help anyone, especially you. You need to let them out, dear. And if you want me to be that ear or that shoulder to cry upon, I don't see why I can't do that. Maybe I can offer some insight or a different perspective. It is not like I have a lot to do here in the spirit world." she reached and cupped Iris's face, "Let me help you"

Iris took a deep shuddering breath and caught Duová in a hug. Duová seemed a little hesitant at first, but then returned the hug

"Thank you, Duová"

"Anytime dear." Duová smiled

Iris pulled and wiped her tears

"You should go now. The Avatar's waiting for you"

Iris smiled and returned to the meditating position. A few minutes later, she felt the physical world and opened her eyes and exhaled loudly

"You okay?"

She looked at Aang, sitting and leaning against a tree

"Yeah, why?" Iris asked, relaxing as she too leaned on a tree. For some reason, she felt a little lighter than before. Talking really does help.

"You were crying"

Iris quickly reached for her cheeks and there were some tear tracks.

"Oh," she muttered and quickly wiped them

"Was it something I did?"

Iris looked at Aang confused "What are you talking about, kid?"

"The reason you were crying"

Iris's eyes widened for a quick moment before she shook her head with a smile

"It wasn't you. Or Sokka or Katara. Just some personal things." she tilted her head "I thought I told you that you brought us hope"

Aang smiled at her and then hugged her

"Is everything okay, kid?" she asked

"Yeah," he nodded and gave her a quick squeeze, pulled.

"What was that for?" she asked

Aang just shrugged and she didn't press him.

"Thanks for helping me today" she smiled

Aang returned the smile, "You don't have to thank me, you know"

Iris chuckled. Neva landed on her lap so Iris started petting her

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Aang started

"Anything," Iris replied

"Uh...this one time you said you were quite experienced in romantic relationships, right?"

"Yes?"

Aang slightly fidgeted where he was seated. It took a few seconds when Iris eventually realized where Aang was going with it. But she waited for him to say it out loud.

"So, you would know some stuff about dating, right?"

"From a girls' perspective, sure I would." she smiled

"Well, there's this girl..." Aang trailed off, a cute light pink color tested over his cheeks. Momo, from Aang's shoulder, bent down to check him.

"Katara?" she asked, with a smile. Aang looked at her, grey eyes wide and surprised.

"Y-You know?"

Iris shrugged with a small laugh, "I've been picking up some subtle things between you two. Mostly from your side."

His blush deepened to an almost red, "Oh,"

Iris smiled, "You want some advice, dontcha?"

Aang shrugged a little, "I could use some help. I don't really know what to do. I mean I like Katara. I think she's beautiful, smart and strong and...just amazing. But I don't know how to make a move for her to notice me."

"Was this why you made that flower band for her this morning?" Iris tilted her head "So she'd notice you?"

Aang looked at her shyly, his blush now a prominent red and nodded.

"have you just tried being yourself?"

Aang looked at her as if he didn't believe that.

Iris chuckled, "Kid, lemme tell you something." she folded her legs, "the first time I had a crush on a boy, I was 13. And he was this super popular kid in my school. We were in the same sports team and he was like 3 or so years older to me. He was cute, charming, a good athlete, and quite passionate" she chuckled "all I wanted was for him to notice me. So I asked a bunch of people what I should do. How do I get him to notice me? And so many people gave me so many suggestions. Dress prettier. Flirt with him. Play hard to catch. Try push and pull and so much stuff and many of them were opposite things. I ended up trying so many of those and what would you know, I embarrassed the hell out of myself on numerous occasions. And this one point, I was so done with people telling me what to do, I told myself to suck it and just forget about it. And I went back to normal. And then to my surprise, he did start noticing me. Sure it was a bit awkward at first, but I liked him. he liked me.

One day he said to me that he had noticed me before I started embarrassing myself but was skeptical about his own feelings. He liked me the way I was." she smiled "Don't ask people what you should do. Do what you think you should do. No one knows you better than yourself. Follow your heart, kid."

"What if she didn't like whatever I'd do?"

"Then you learn from it and not repeat the mistake. No one is born perfect. You learn from trials and errors. The most important thing is you learn. But maybe you shouldn't pursue her for a while."

Aang perked up, "Why would you say that?"

"Call it intuition or experience, I don't know. You guys have known each other for just a few months. And while I do kinda understand what boys your age go through at this point," she completely ignored his red face, "Give it some time. Find out about her likes and dislikes. Just telling her that you like her outta the blue might scare her a little. Right now, for her, you are just a friend. Let her know subtly that you like her." she shrugged

Aang nodded, his face still red, "Thanks, Iris"

"Anytime, kid." she smiled and then laughed once she realized how red his face actually had gone.

"You are adorable," she chuckled, stood up, and with Aang made way back to the village.

"So, I was wondering if you could k-"

"This will be our secret. Relax. Whatever you say to me, stays with me."

"Oh okay" he nodded

The silence between them for just like 10 minutes before he spoke again,

"So how do I do it subtly?"

Iris chuckled, "You did it this morning"

Aang blinked and then remembered what she was referring to.

"Oh! A panda Lilly!"

Both of them turned to look at the source. It was the woman they had earlier met at Aunt Wu's and she hugged the man who gave her a panda lily.

"Did you see that?" Aang muttered and looked at her as if asking for approval.

"That could work," Iris smiled. That seemed enough for Aang, as he rushed to the happy hugging couple, physically forcing them apart. They are both surprised, Iris smacked her forehead. But Aang leaned over them to point at the flower the woman's hand.

"Excuse me. Where can a guy find one of those things?"

"Oh, they grow up at the volcano" the man answered, a bit confused.

Aang nodded with a smile, "Thank you," and he made his way back to her.

"He said they grow at the volcano," Aang informed her, "I'm gonna go and get one."

Iris smiled, "Take Sokka with you. He seems like he'd murder someone if he heard how great Aunt Wu is one more time"

The two looked at Sokka, who looked extremely pissed at someone telling him the same. Once Aang dragged Sokka away, Iris took a deep breath and decide to find Katara.

She found Katara outside Aunt Wu's.

"Still want more predictions?" she asked

Katara sighed, "Can you believe she won't let me in? And after all the business I've given her?"

"Kat, she does this for free" Iris said

"I know, but still."

"Don't you think you are getting a little too dependant on Aunt Wu's predictions?"

"There's nothing wrong with being prepared for the future"

Iris nodded, "True. But doesn't that take all the fun from life?"

"What do you mean?"

Iris jerked her head to the tea shop "Walk with me?"

Katara paused but nodded and accompanied her.

"By that, I meant that life is full of surprises, Kat. What makes tomorrow more fun is not knowing what is to come. Take it from someone who's had a lot of their future predictions come true, fortune-telling isn't the best way to live your life. and the future is never set on stone. Especially in my case." she muttered the last line

"It is the unexpected that makes living fun rather than knowing what is to come. Knowing your future makes you anxious and paranoid. And you do not want that at this age."

The two placed their orders and sat down while their tea was served.

"So what all did Aunt Wu tell you?"

They were in the middle of their discussion when Aang and Sokka barged into the shop, almost ran into the server, more or less skidded on split tea but somehow made their way to them.

"Whoa," Iris muttered, lowering her cup, "What's the rush?"

"Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano." Sokka quickly said

"Sokka, you tried to convince me she was wrong before. It's going to take an awful lot to change my min-" Katara was cut off by a loud boom. The four shared a look and rushed outside. The volcano had just erupted to life. The mountain suddenly had a full plume of ash and smoke stretching to the clouds.

"Oh, no!" Katara muttered

"Well, shite!" Iris muttered. To all their surprise, the villagers were going on about their personal lives as if nothing was happening.

"Everyone! That volcano is gonna blow any second. Aunt Wu was wrong!" Sokka yelled

"Yeh, yeh, we know you don't believe in Aunt Wu, "Mr. Science and Reason Lover."" some random girl said

"If you won't listen to him, maybe you'll listen to me. I want to believe Aunt Wu and her predictions as much as you do, but my brother and Aang saw the lava with their own eyes." Katara added

"Well, I heard Aunt Wu's prediction with my own ears." the man they had earlier met in the forest said.

Aang air bent himself on top of the tea shop.

"Please listen to us! You are all in danger! And we have to get out of here. You can't rely on Aunt Wu's prediction. You have to take fate into your own hands."

Another explosion occurred, "Look!" Sokka pointed at the mountain "Can your fortunetelling explain that?"

"Can your science explain why it rains?" a random man asked

"Yes! Yes, it can!" Sokka replied, very annoyed.

The crowd still didn't look very convinced, so Iris got an idea

"Hey, maybe this isn't the best way to tell it to them"

"What do you suggest?" Sokka asked

"Who is the one person they all listen to?"

"But Aunt Wu said they'd be safe" Katara noted

"Yeah, but what if Aunt Wu said they'd be in trouble." Iris suggested, "How did she make those predictions?"

"she had this book about cloud patterns she read off from" Aang said

Iris nodded "Then we get that book"

"You mean steal it?" Aang asked

"Eh.." Iris shrugged, "I mean borrow it without asking and then return it."

"That is stealing."

"Kid, what she doesn't know won't hurt" Iris replied, "So do you want to go, or should I?"

Aang returned about 10 minutes later with the book. They had moved to some secluded spot in the village, so no one would know anything. He handed the book to Iris, who quickly flipped through it.

"Clouds are made of water and air so between the two of us we ought to be able to bend them into any shape we want," Aang suggested

Iris stopped at a particular page "Here. The symbol of volcanic doom."

She handed the book to Katara, "You both get on Appa and change the clouds. Sokka and I'll get the traction." and at once they got to work.

Sokka and Iris walked back to the village square and waited until the clouds started to change. And once they did, they shared a look and then rushed to Aunt Wu's.

"I'm afraid she's not going to see anyone today anymore," the herald told them.

"Oh," Iris replied, "Then maybe you could tell us what that means?" she pointed at the sky where the clouds were beginning to take a specific shape.

The herald's eyes widened and he rushed in. Aunt Wu walked out after a few seconds, looking at them

"What is wrong?"

"You need to come with us," Sokka said

The two led her back to her stage. By that time, Katara and Aang had done their job, quite beautifully.

"Aunt Wu, look! Something is happening in the clouds." Sokka added

"That's very strange. It shouldn't... Oh my!" she gasped

Iris looked back at the sky and a shudder ran down her spine. The cloud-skull in the sky gave her a creepy reminder of what happened back in the Quidditch world tournament.

To her utter shock, the skull's jaw opened and something poked out. And then slithered. It was a snake. Made of clouds. The cloud-snake slithered out and then all the way around the skull before exiting through the open jaw. It raised its head and hi-

She yelped when someone shook her arm. She like down, curbing her labored breaths to see the three kids.

"Are you okay? You looked..." Aang started

Iris didn't answer. She looked back at the sky where just he cloud-skull floated. what the fuck was going on with her?

"Iris, ma-" Katara started

"I'm fine," she replied tersely. She ran her hand over her face and then her hair. "I'm fine" she repeated.

"If you say so." Aang replied and then pointed towards the one of the twins she had earlier seen in town "He's an earth bender."

"What's the plan?" she asked

Sokka quickly explained to her.

"Okay. I may know a spell that can help"

Aang nodded and they all rushed to work.

Appa, Iris, and the townspeople labored to dig the trench, using earthbending, spellwork/energybending, and manual means. Another explosion heralded and the volcano now started spewing lava.

"Dig faster! Dig faster!" Sokka called

"Get back," she called over her shoulder as everyone backed away.

"Defodio," she muttered, focusing her most energy to make that trench. The earth in front of her parted away and they all could see the river.

"Everyone needs to evacuate! We'll come for you when it's safe!" Aang added

Iris held onto Appa, who flew her back to the team. Everyone else ran off. Iris got off and had Appa reach the village outskirts

Iris approached the other three and sighed

"How does it look?" she asked Sokka

"It should do it" Sokka nodded. Iris nodded back just when she noticed something black falling down. it was soot. Ash. Iris looked up as the lava began to flow down the mountainside.

"It's too much! It's gonna overflow!" Katara called

Iris inhaled sharply and walked to Aang, standing on the rim of the trench.

"You should go."

Iris didn't reply, just stood there. Aang spared her one look, then looked forward again.

Another explosion rocked the village. Burning ejecta began raining down in addition to the ash. Suddenly a huge boulder fell out of the sky and landed in the trench, exploding. Before Iris could do anything, Aang rushed forward, with a furious war-cry and unleashed strong currents, and began air bending them.

Iris pulled out her one fan and flared it, casting _Ventus_. It just proved to be a strong boost to Aang.

As the lava was trying to overflow, Aang and Iris blew the lava straight up, rather than allowing to advance on the village.

"On the count of three?" she asked

Aang nodded. Iris positioned herself, closing her eyes. She collected energy from the lava, all the heat energy she could. She was a medium. she could change energy from one form to another.

Once she felt like she had enough energy, she opened her eyes,

"1, 2, 3"

She cast the most powerful _Glacius_ she ever had, just as Aang air bent his massive exhale of air. Her ice winds with his air bending, together, cooled all the lava to stone.

Iris took deep breaths when the lava cooled and then sat down on the ground in lotus position, calming, stabilizing and recharging her core. Aang did the same.

Iris could feel the lava follow down the trench behind the barrier she and Aang had created. Once she felt relaxed and back to half of her energy, she opened her eyes and sighed. That _Glacius_ took more than she had expected.

"Kid?" she asked softly

"I'm fine."

They shared a look and a smile.

Once the village was out of the imminent danger and was safe, the four had asked the villagers to return. Soon, all the villagers, including Aunt Wu, assembled at the village square.

Iris looked back at the clouds, an eerie feeling in her gut. Suddenly someone nudged her. She looked down at Katara

"The book," she whispered

Iris' eyes widened, "Right"

"Hey, Aunt Wu," she approached her, her three ducklings following her.

"Yes?"

Iris pulled out the book and extended,

"We kind of borrowed your book."

Aunt Wu took the book, "So you messed with the clouds did you!" she looked at Aang and Katara, then back at Iris, grabbing the book in anger. Iris didn't react.

"It was the only way," Iris shrugged

And suddenly Aunt Wu began to laugh, "Very clever!"

Sokka snorted and then faced the villagers, "No offense, but I hope this taught everyone a lesson about not relying too much on fortune-telling."

"But Aunt Wu predicted the village wouldn't be destroyed, and it wasn't. She was right, after all." the calm man replied

"I hate you," Sokka muttered, getting into the man's face, only for Katara to pull him back.

"It's ok, Sokka. Everything's gonna be all right."

"Can I ask you something?"

Iris looked at Aang. At first, she thought the question was directed to her, but no, it was for Aunt Wu. Realizing that it had something to do with what Aunt Wu saw in Aang's future, she excused herself quickly and walked to Appa.

She rechecked the reins and their supplies, as others said their goodbyes in the village.

"Young girl,"

Iris turned around to look at who called her. It was Aunt Wu

"Aunt Wu" she chuckled nervously, "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes. But there is something I wanted to give to you before you left."

Iris nodded "Okay...?"

Aunt Wu smiled, reached under her robes, and pulled something. It was a necklace. The same thing she had seen at the pirate's shop weeks ago.

"I've seen it before," she said, taking a step forward.

"Have you now?" she chuckled

"It's an energy bending relic. That's all I know"

Aunt Wu hummed, "It was one of the few things my non-bender ancestor got from her bender mother. And since then, it's been passed down from generation to generation,"

"Oh,"

And then Aunt Wu extended it to her, "I want you to have it."

Iris's eyes widened as she took a step back, "I can't. I can't take a family heirloom."

"Dear, I don't have children of my own, to whom I could pass this or my ability. And I think the last energybender on earth deserves this relic a lot more than anyone else." and then bowed a little, "It's an honor to meet an alive energybender." and then pulled back.

Iris stopped and looked at her, "Why am I not surprised that you know about me"

Aunt Wu just smiled and extended the necklace. Iris took a deep breath, but grudgingly took the necklace and tied it around her neck.

"Now it looks perfect," Aunt Wu smiled, "Also, I know I said that your future isn't determined yet, but destiny is a fickle thing. And so, you must expect the unexpected from it,"

Iris nodded, "I will."

"One more I wanted to say before you cut me off back then. Your significant other, well, you both will have a lot of shared life experiences. Not just common grounds, but similar experiences. Take care on your journey." and she turned and left.

Iris blinked for a solid minute,

"What?" she squawked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm back!. After another anxiety attack and a nervous breakdown, I'm back on track. I know nobody wants to know, so I'll just skip it. 
> 
> Again, thanks for all the support and read and comment on what you think about this chapter!
> 
> Ciao


	12. At the crossroads

The morning had been pretty decent. They landed at some random shore, had breakfast, packed up, and decided to walk for some time so they could stretch their limbs. Aang and Sokka were in the lead, Katara almost behind them, while Iris kept her distance. Her mind was deep in thought. She had been practicing to manipulate her own energy but she wasn't being as good at it as she expected. She was lacking somewhere but didn't know where. She had traveled to the spirit world two times since her nervous breakdown in front of Duová. Duová had been so sweet to spare at least 20-30 minutes almost every time so they could talk about everything. And she was always giving her advice and a new perspective of things.

"Hey look! A sword made out of a whale's tooth."

Iris looked at Aang, who picked a somewhat familiar sword from the ground. She squinted her eyes and approached them just as Sokka took it to examine.

"This is a water tribe weapon." Sokka said and then looked at Aang over his shoulder, "See if you can find anything else."

"Did someone lose something?" Katara asked.

"No, we found something," Aang replied looking in the bush.

Iris walked to Sokka,

"Can I see it?"

Sokka handed her the sword. And she decided to try this new thing she read in the book. To feel the thing's energy and then feel the owner's.

The energy signature was weak as if it had been lying there for days if not over a week. She opened her eyes and took a breath. She won't be able to find the owner with that weak energy.

"Hey, I found something"

Iris looked at Sokka and headed to him just as he picked a broken arrow and inspected it

"It's burned," Iris muttered looking over Sokka's shoulder.

Sokka nodded, threw it away, and headed to a tree with burn marks.

"There was a battle. Water tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders."

Iris looked around, "There aren't any visible signs of struggle. I don't think anyone was captured"

Sokka looked around, down and then began to walk downhill,

"The firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill..."

And he suddenly ran down the hills, the other two following him. Iris rolled her eyes and followed the three.

"So then what happened?" Aang asked as they appeared at a small clearing.

"I don't know. The trail ends here." Sokka muttered, looking around.

Iris walked a little and looked around. Spotting something, she pushed down the bushes and raised a brow.

"Guys," she called over her shoulder, "Something you should see."

She heard three pairs of footsteps stop next to her

"It's one of our boats!" Sokka exclaimed, making his way to the boat. The rest followed him. The boat didn't look damaged and washed ashore. But what would a single boat do on a beach?

"Is this... Dad's boat?" Katara asked

Sokka walked to the boat and rubbed the ship's prow, "No, but it's from his fleet. Dad was here."

"Well, that's some good news, right?" Iris asked, crossing her arms.

* * *

Fire Navy ship,

Iroh was having a calm time, sitting in a cabin opposite to his nephew, sipping on his favorite tea.

"Ahh!" he smiled, "See, Prince Zuko, a moment of quiet is good for your mental well being."

As Zuko raised the cup to drink, a shock caused it to splash the tea all over his face. He wiped it away and got up from the table, making grunting angrily. Iroh followed his nephew.

There on the deck, they found a young dark-haired woman riding a massive and hideous monster. The crew scattered as the monster climbed the railing and onto the deck.

"Get back! We're after a stowaway." the woman called

"There are no stowaways on my ship." Zuko snapped back,

The monster proceeded to rip out a chunk of deck plating and hurled it aft. It stuck its head into the gaping hole. Nearby a barrel fell onto the deck, as the man tried to make a run for it. But the monster lashed out its tongue, which hit the man, causing him to fall down conscious but paralyzed.

"He's paralyzed," Zuko muttered, surprised.

The woman picked the man, "Only temporarily. The toxins'll wear off in about an hour. But by then he'll be in jail and I'll have my money."

"But how did you find him on my ship?" Zuko asked

"My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away."

Iroh smiled, admiring the woman, "Well, I'm impressed."

She cracked her whip and rushed off with her shirshu.

Iroh hummed, stroking his chin, "Very impressed."

* * *

They decided to camp near the boat that night. After having some dinner, the four of them called it a night. Well, two of four of them. While Katara and Aang went to sleep, Sokka stayed awake. He claimed it was to keep an eye on Iris, but they all knew it was a part-lie.

Iris, on the other hand, had recently found out that focused meditation, one of the six types of meditation, was a great thing. It helped her to focus on her inner energy and understand it, manipulate it, and learn from it while also substituting as a very good power nap. A good one hour of focused meditation could actually give the same amount of relaxation as about 4 hours of sleep.

The first time she had tried, she accidentally ended up traveling to the spirit world only for Duová to give her notes on how to meditate while working with energy without leaving the physical world. She had also learned from Duová that focused meditation while being an amazing thing, also left her quite open and vulnerable for attack. Unlike spiritual meditation, she cannot break her link to her own energy core that easily or hastily. According to Duová's warning, doing so could hurt her core. Or do some permanent damage. so she didn't try.

the three were a little worried when she told them about what Duová had told them, and offered to keep an eye on her while she meditated, but she asked them not to. Mainly because this meditation made her very stimulated. She could feel every single minute shift in the energy from the ants and small insects to the energy of people around her to all her surroundings. It was a fucking Jackson Pollock painting with all bright colored energies and different readings. So she would be noticing any approaching danger to them faster than others. The only downside, it would take her some time to return to her conscious self.

The night was calm. She could feel the heat energy of the campfire, energy of her three friends, the energy of the three animals, energy from the sea, wind, sand, vegetation, everything. Her focus was her own energy and tinkering around it.

And out of the blue, she felt a foreign presence a bit far for them, approaching them. It was unknown but a tiny bit familiar for some reason.

Not wanting to leave Sokka to deal with this alone, she slowly detached herself, pulling out.

She exhaled loudly and slumped her shoulders as things around her returned to focus.

"Everyth-" Sokka began but stopped when he heard something.

"You heard that?" he whispered, looking in that direction.

"Yup," Iris nodded and looked at the source.

Sokka's hand reached for his boomerang and Iris's reached for her dagger. And then he appeared. He was bandaged quite heavily and wore water-tribe clothes

"Sokka?" the man asked

"Bato?" Sokka asked, standing up.

The commotion was enough to wake up the two sleepers.

"Who the what now?" Aang asked, sleepily.

"Bato!" Katara exclaimed.

She ran past her and with her brother hugged the man.

"Sokka! Katara!" Bato was grinning, "It is so good to see you two! Oh, you've grown so much."

Aang and Iris shared a look then looked back at them as the siblings pulled from the man.

"Hi, I'm Aang." Aang introduced.

Iris just waved at him with a smile, "I'm Iris"

"Where's Dad?" Sokka asked, quickly following that.

"Is he here?" Katara added

"No, he and the other warriors should be in the Eastern Earth Kingdom by now," Bato replied

The wind suddenly picked up, causing them all to shiver.

"This is no place for a reunion. Let's get inside." Bato placed his arms around the siblings and gestured for the other two to follow.

Bato led them to a monastery complex, as he told them about himself and how he ended there.

"After I was wounded, your father carried me to this abbey. The sisters have cared for me ever since." Bato turned and addressed a woman, a nun, "Superior, these are Hakoda's children. They've been traveling with the Avatar and their friend. I found them by my boat."

Superior bowed to them, "Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our abbey."

Aang smiled and returned the bow, "Thank you! It's truly an honor to be here. If there's anything –"

"What smells so good, Bato?" Sokka asked cutting Aang off as he smelled the air.

"The sisters craft ointments and perfumes," Bato answered

"Perfume? Maybe we could dump some on Appa? Because he stinks so much! Am I right?" Sokka asked with a laugh while no one looked amused.

"You have your father's wit." Bato just replied and then led the quartet to wooden doors and entered them. It looked like the room he was given or something because it was covered in a lot of things that could only be seen in Southern Water Tribe.

"Bato! It looks like home!" Katara exclaimed with a grin

"Everything's here, even the pelts!"

Iris had to admit, this did resemble the house interiors back in the village.

"Yeh, nothing's more comforting than dead animal skins."

She rolled her eyes and elbowed Aang. He looked at her in surprise and she just shook her head.

Katara went on and opened the pot cooking over the flame. Sokka was next to her and Bato was opposite to them, sitting.

"No way! Stewed sea prunes?" Katara looked way too happy.

"Help yourself." Bato smiled

"Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things." Sokka smiled, sitting. Katara poured some in a bowl, handed it to Sokka, and then to Iris, who denied. She wasn't hungry and not in the mood to eat. Iris just looked around the room, as the siblings chatted with Bato. Aang sat next to her, looking a bit upset.

"Bato, is it true you and Dad lassoed an arctic hippo?" Katara asked

"It was your father's idea. He just dragged me along. Well, the hippo did the dragging." Bato replied

"Hey, I ride animals too! One time there was this giant eel –" Aang started but Sokka cut him off, again.

"So who was it that came up with the great blubber fiasco?"

"You knew about that?" Bato laughed

"Everyone does," Katara replied

"Excuse me," Iris said and stood up, leaving. She knew others, except Aang, didn't pay much attention to her leaving, but she didn't blame them. They had probably met him after about 2 or some years.

She walked into the compound and she finally found the Superior near some barrels.

"Superior, mam." she approached her.

"How can I help you?" she smiled

"Bato said you make perfume and ointments. Can I see some?"

"Any particular preference?" Superior smiled

"Something flowery, maybe, for perfume. Oh and some healing ointments since we are on travel. " Iris shrugged

* * *

Zuko walked into the pathetic place where he was told he could find the woman who owned the shirshu. And if that beast could find rat a continent away, then it could definitely find the Avatar. He pushed his way through the crowd, not minding who he offended. He was the prince of Fire Nation. he could do as he pleased if it meant that he could capture the Avatar.

He finally found the woman arm-wrestling some man at a table. The beefy man struggled to hold down his position

"I need to talk to you." Zuko walked to them

"Well, if it isn't my new friends, Angry Boy and Uncle Lazy." the woman slyly smirked

His uncle laughed heartily behind him before the woman ended the contest with a single swift move. The crowd erupted and a lot of money changed hands, much of ending in a big pile in front of the woman.

"Your beast trashed my ship. You have to pay me back." Zuko reminded her

The woman ranked in the pile of coins, "Aww, I'd love to help you out, but I'm a little short on money." she got up on her chair, "Drinks on me!"

The crowd erupted again.

Frustrated at that, Zuko quickly grabbed her hand as she raised her cup to her lips and snarled, "Money isn't what I had in mind."

The three walked outside where her shirshu was. and then Zuko pulled out the metal fan he had whipped out of the white-haired friend of the avatar. He knew that by now she must have realized that he stole it. And while he wasn't fond of stealing, he was a prince, not some thief, he had to think fast then. He didn't even know why he stole her fan of all things. he just took what he thought would be important to her. And she had had the fan since Kyoshi island.

He had questions, whose answers only she could give. And those questions regarded what really happened that night? He had gone there with the intention of freeing the Avatar, and by extension her, they somewhat managed to escape before they were spotted and after that, everything was hazy. He just remembered waking in the forest after dawn and having that conversation with her. He attacked her, but she grabbed his fist and didn't even flinch, and that when he somehow managed to take the fan from where it was tucked in her pants. Hoping one day, they would meet and she'd give him answers in return for her weapon. She was a warrior, he knew that much. And for a warrior, their weapon is the extension of their own body. Something they cannot compensate without.

His uncle had suggested that she could be an energybender but he didn't believe him. Iroh didn't even any have proof. Just a hollow theory. Energybenders, for as long as he vaguely recalled, went extinct for unknown reasons about 10,000 years ago. There was no way she could have been an energybender. But she was something and he wanted to know what she was and how and if she was making the Avatar so powerful?

"I need you to find someone," he told her

"What happened? Your girlfriend run off on you?" the woman cocked her hip

"It's not the girl I'm after, it's the bald monk she's traveling with," Zuko grunted

"Whatever you say." the woman rolled her eyes

"If you find them, I'll consider the damage to my ship paid for."

"Heh! Forget it." the woman huffed, turned around and began to climb her saddle

"Plus we'll pay your weight in gold." Iroh quickly piped in

She smiled, got down and walked over to them,

"Make it your weight and we got a deal."

Iron laughed, "You got it!"

The woman grabbed the fan from Zuko's hand, "Get on."

* * *

Iris was at first a little surprised by the number of options she was presented. She expected 8, maybe 10. But they showed her, like 25 options.

"Wow," she smiled as she inhaled a particular scent. It was...amazing. It had something unique to it at the same time smelled quite similar. Iris extended the wrist where she had tested the perfume towards Neva, who smelled it and approved. "What is this made of?"

"Panda lily," the nun, who was helping her, smiled.

"It's amazing. I'll have...two of these"

She might not have been given such luxuries as a young girl, but all the credit went to Hermione, Ginny, and Fleur for introducing her to everything girly. From dresses to perfumes and makeup. In fact, Fleur had made it a habit to gift her an exquisite bottle of Monique Lhuillier perfume bottle for her birthday since her 15th birthday.

She paid the nun with some silver coins. They were her personal savings. She often took small jobs almost at all their pitstop whose earnings she kept to herself. Though she would, 98% of times, slip most of her earnings into the cost of their expenses which went for their food and stuff and only kept some with her.

She was going to try the next perfume when Neva patted her arm with her wing. Iris looked at her familiar who was looking somewhere behind her. Iris followed Neva's gaze to see Aang leaving the room and then walking out of the abbey. She placed the perfume bottle back and looked at the nun,

"Would it be a problem if I resumed it after some time?" she asked, a bit guilty

The nun smiled, "I understand. Your friend needs you more"

Iris smiled, "Thanks a ton"

She stepped back and made to follow Aang, Neva flying right next to her. They found Aang at the beach, settled on the prow of Bato's ship.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" she asked, shivering a little at the cold wind. She wrapped her arms around her torso, casting a warming spell on her shirt at the same time.

Aang looked at her from his perch, then went back to his position. She easily climbed up the boat and managed to sit on the prow, legs dangling. Neva found a perch at the end of the prow, enjoying the sea breeze.

"Kid?" she asked

Aang sighed

"Katara and Sokka are gonna leave me," he said in a very meek voice.

"What?" she asked, a little surprised and a little worried. She left the three for barely 15 minutes and missed how much?

"What do you mean they are gonna leave you?"

Aang sighed again, "Bato is expecting news from others of the tribe on their location. And Katara and Sokka said they'd like to join him so they can go see their dad. They are gonna go with Bato."

Iris placed an arm around Aang's shoulder and rubbed his arm

"But I'm staying" she smiled "and you know what, if they want to go, really want to, they should go and we should let them"

Aang looked at her surprised.

"Kid, they haven't seen their father in over two years. Tell me, if you found out that there are some alive airbenders by any chance, wouldn't you want to leave to go look for them?"

Aang looked back ahead of them, "I suppose I will"

"And it's not they are gonna leave us forever. We can always meet them at some point." she smiled then looked at him and nudged him with her shoulder, "Hey maybe if they leave and we meet them later, you can show Katara some could waterbending and how much you improved. I'm bloody sure she'd be impressed."

If she noticed Aang's blush, she didn't comment or laugh.

"I'm saying we should just be prepared if they chose to leave," she added, resting her cheek on Aang's head, "And that's a big 'if'. Just remember I'll always be there, beside you. "

Aang hummed, "Thanks, Iris"

Iris smiled. Their peaceful moment was interrupted by the sudden sound of an approaching lizard-like thing. Mounted on top of it was a man.

"I'm looking for Bato of the Water Tribe." the man said stopping in front of them.

"Uh, we know Bato." Aang said as Iris pulled back.

He extended a scroll which Aang accepted, "Make sure he gets this."

And then he rode off. Aang opened the scroll. Iris looked at the scroll. Momo climbed over Aang's other shoulder too.

"It's the map to Sokka and Katara's Dad!" Aang exclaimed

"Kid?" Iris asked when she realized he was staring at the map. She knew he was feeling insecure and scared.

Aang took a deep breath, "We should tell Bato about it"

Iris smiled, "We should"

She jumped down followed by Aang,

"Neva" she called. Her familiar looked over her shoulder at the two benders with narrowed eyes for interrupting her time, but then flew up and landed on Iris's extended arm ad the four made their way back to the abbey.

They went back to Bato's room where the three of them were still sitting around the fire and talking.

"Hey, guys" iris smiled, walking in, grabbing all their attention.

"Hey Iris, Aang, I didn't notice you left,erd" Katara said, looking over her shoulder.

"It's alright." Iris smiled, "While we were out enjoying the beach, we got a scroll from a messenger. Kid?"

Aang pulled the scroll out and extended it. Sokka took it and unrolled it.

"It's dad's location!" he exclaimed. Bato walked to him and took the scroll.

"It sure is" he then looked at them, "Thank you, Avatar, Iris"

"You are welcome" Aang smiled

"Let's get rest tonight. We'll make plans tomorrow"

Iris nodded and looked at Aang "You did the right thing"

"I hope so"

* * *

The next morning, Bato said something about telling them about his ship. So, they went there.

"This ship is sentimental to me. It was built by my father." Bato said, glancing at the boat.

"Is this the boat he took you ice-dodging in?" Sokka asked, a bit excited. Iris looked at Sokka. She knew what ice-dodging was and that unlike other men of the tribe, Sokka never got his chance to do so because no one was there for him.

"Yeh, it's got the scar to prove it. Huh. How about you, Sokka? You must have some good stories from your first time ice-dodging?" Bato looked at Sokka

"He never got to go. Dad left before he was old enough." Katara answered

"Oh, I forgot, you were too young." Bato hummed to himself

"What's ice-dodging?" Aang asked

"It's a rite of passage for young water tribe members. When you turn fourteen your Dad takes you... you know what," Bato placed his hand on Sokka's shoulder, "you're about to find out."

Sokka just smiled

* * *

They got into his boat in the water, cutting through the waves near the shore. Treacherous rocks were visible in the entire water body. Iris was not having a good feeling about this, honestly.

"Ice-dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery, trust, and power. In our village, it was done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs." Bato explained

"How are we supposed to ice-dodge without ice?" Sokka asked

"You will be dodging...those."

Bato pointed ahead. At the rocks. Yup. They were in for one bloody hell of a ride. Sokka was to dodge a veritable thicket of stalagmite like rocks.

"Sokka," Bato started, "you steer and call the shots. Lead wisely. Katara, you secure the mainsail. The winds can be brutal, so be brave. Aang, you control the jib, without your steady hand, we all go down. Your position is about trust. Iris, you take the spinnaker. it takes a lot to control those brutal winds and use them to power the boat. Do not miscalculate."

The three nodded and took their positions.

"For this to be done right I cannot help. You pass or fail on your own."

Iris tightened her grip and shared a look with Aang. She had heard of this tradition but was never a part of it.

Sokka moved to the tiller as the ship started moving towards the rocks.

"Aang, ease up on the jib. Katara, steady! Iris, to your left," Sokka ordered, "Aang, less sail!" Sokka grunted, pulling the tiller to his right, "Iris, Katara, give him room!"

Aang hauled the rope as the ship weaved in and out of the rocks.

"Aang! Helm to lee! Helm to lee!" Sokka shouted

"What does that even mean!?" Aang demanded

The four struggled against their loads, only for the ship to narrowly miss a huge pile of rocks by damn luck.

"Great job!" Sokka grinned at them

"Thanks, Sokka. But please next time onwards, get a little dumber for some of us. No offense." Iris said

"Got it" Sokka nodded, though she knew he was restraining his chuckle. it wasn't her fault she knew nothing about boats or stuff. Moving along, they entered a cul de sac, ringed by jagged rocks, at high speed.

"There's no way through!" Katara pointed

"We can make it!" Sokka said, determined

"Sokka, you've already proven yourself, maybe we should –" Bato started but Sokka cut him off

"Iris, I'm gonna need air in that sail!"

Iris nodded and pulled out her fan,

"Katara, Aang, I want you two to bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks! Now!"

The three jumped at his directions. Iris cast a _Ventus_ and as usual, used the fan to direct the winds. Sure it would have been much easier with both her fans but she just had one to work with.

Katara and Aang rushed to the front of the boat and raised the ship's elevation on accelerating waves of water. The wave carried the speeding ship safely over the ring of jagged rocks.

Once passed, Iris stopped. Sokka fell back on the tiller with a sigh of relief. They all exchanged smiles before Bato suggested that they should get back to the beach.

Back at the beach, Bato pulled some black face paint out in a bowl.

"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks. For Sokka, the mark of the wise, the same mark your father earned." Bato smiled, marking Sokka's forehead with a dot and a half-circle mark above it.

"For Katara, the mark of the brave. Your courage inspires us."

He marked her forehead with a crescent-shaped mark.

"For Aang, the mark of the trusted. Your trust would lead through the dark times"

He marked Aang's forehead with a half-circle mark.

"And for Iris, the mark of the powerful. Your will would empower you and people around you" he drew a small circle and cross over the circle.

Then he smiled at her and Aang, "From now on, you both are honorary members of the Southern Water tribe."

Iris bowed to him. Aang did the same

"We are honored" she smiled and pulled back and turned to Sokka "Congratulations"

Sokka just grinned at her.

She turned back to Bato, "I don't mean to cause the rush, but what's the plan?"

"What do you mean?" Katara asked

"Aang told me last night that you two were planning to go with Bato to see your dad."

"We were discussing it," Sokka admitted

"Well, if you want to go, then maybe you shouldn't hold back from seeing your father" Aang added, "You haven't seen him in years, I guess"

"What about you and going to Northern Water Tribe?" Katara asked

"Iris will come with me."

The siblings looked at her in surprise.

Iris shrugged a little nervous, "I don't really know your dad or anyone else. I'd be more useful with taking kid to the North. But then, it's your call to make. Just don't factor us. We'll go with whatever decision you make."

Katara and Sokka exchanged a worried look. And then they looked at Bato,

"What should we do?"

"Like Iris said, it's your call to make." Bato softly smiled.

"But dad's all the way on the other side of the Earth Kingdom. We could never meet you guys again," Katara said

Iris smiled. "Friendship isn't determined by distance but love and affection. So to say, if you choose to go, we can always meet you guys later at some point. Like...Omashu, maybe, or some other Earth Kingdom city?"

Katara and Sokka exchanged another look

"Give us a minute?" Sokka asked

"Take your time," Bato said

Iris nodded and the siblings walked a little far to discuss things.

"Iris,"

Iris turned to face Bato

"Katara and Sokka told me that all you've done for them and the tribe in the past year in the absence of its leaders. On behalf of the entire Southern Water Tribe and Hakoda, thank you," he bowed a little

Iris blinked, shuffling a little,

"It was nothing. They took me in and gave me a place to stay. That was the least I could do." she smiled

"I don't mean to pry, but...uhm...your hair? Is it...natural?"

Iris blinked again and then chuckled, "Kind of," she nervously smiled

"And you are an Airbender?"

Whoa. What was this? 20 questions? Interrogation? Telly interview? Wait, they didn't have telly right now.

And Iris wasn't sure how much she could trust him. Sure he was from the Water Tribe and an almost uncle to the siblings, but in her experience, even family couldn't be trusted at times.

"No, sir," she replied, "I'm not an Airbender." she jutted her chin towards Aang, "He's the only Airbender left"

Before Bato could ask anything else, the siblings returned and then looked at Bato.

"What have you decided, Sokka, Katara?" Bato asked

Sokka took a deep breath, "We want to see Dad, but helping Aang is where we're needed the most."

Katara smiled, "We promised him. We are sorry Bato. Can you tell dad we said hi."

Bato returned the smile, "Do not apologize, Katara. I will let Hakoda know." he placed a hand on both their shoulders, "Your father will understand. And I know he's proud of you."

"Thanks, Bato." Sokka smiled

"Are you both sure?" Iris asked

Both the siblings nodded with a determined shine in their blue eyes.

The four made their way back to the abbey and proceeded to pack their things. They placed their backpacks on in the abbey's main courtyard. Iris and Aang proceeded to load all on Appa as the siblings said their final goodbye to Bato.

The nun had handed Iris the two bottles of perfumes she had asked. She hadn't gotten a chance to test more of them.

"All set?" Iris asked

Aang tightened their luggage and checked the bindings,

"Yup," he nodded and then jumped down. The two made their way back to the three water tribe people.

"We are good to go," she told them

Bato nodded,

"Take care of yourself and each other," Bato told the siblings, who nodded back.

He then looked at them, "You two too"

"We will," Iris smiled

Bato then pulled out the map he had gotten, "I know where to go from here." he handed the map to Sokka, "Take this in case you want to find us. I'll leave a message at the rendezvous point."

Sokka nodded, taking the map.

"You should leave," Bato suggested

The siblings hugged him one last time before they pulled and the four made their way back to Appa. By the time they finished all their final setups and checking, Bato had left.

"Hey, can we go to the boat one last time," Sokka asked

"Sure" Aang shrugged

They ended up at the beach. While Appa relaxed a little, Sokka went to explore the boat for some reason. Iris just strolled down the beach with Neva perched on her extended forearm. No matter how many times she did visit the beach, it always fascinated her.

She heard shuffling as Sokka exited the ship with something in his hands. She approached him and Katara demounted Appa. Aang peered from the saddle

"What's this?" Aang asked

"It's a Billiken!" Katara exclaimed

Sokka nodded, "It is carved from the tusks of a whale-walrus and are considered good luck charms. I figured Bato's boat would have had one. Can we have it?"

Iris smiled, "I don't see why not? At this point, we need all the good luck in the world."

Sokka grinned at her.

"We should get moving," Aang suggested

Others nodded. Katara was the first to climb up. Sokka was about to get up when they heard the rustling in the bushes which got all their attention.

"What's that?" Katara asked

To their surprise, a frantic Superior rushed out, looking worried,

"Superior?" Iris frowned "Is everything alright?"

"You all must leave!"

"We were about to. But what happened?" Sokka asked

"A group of people came to the abbey looking for you."

"Who?" Aang asked, beginning to alarm.

"A fierce-looking woman with a horrible monster and a young man with a scar."

"Zuko!" the four chorused. It had to be him.

"The beast was using the scent of a fan to follow you."

"My fan?!" Iris demanded. She looked at others and raised a brow. She wanted her fan back but was it worth the risk?

"We get it back," Aang said, the siblings nodded. She looked at them and saw the determined looks on all their faces.

Iris exhaled but nodded.

"You should go," Iris told Superior, "We'll handle it from here."

Superior gave them a little worried look but obliged.

And there was another rustling in the vegetation, just louder this time. Aang and Katara jumped down, ready to fight. Sokka pulled out his boomerang.

Then came out the beast. It was big, ugly, and looked like a mole-something. On top of it were a woman, Zuko, and the old man she frequently saw with Zuko.

"So which one is your girlfriend?" the woman asked, then looked at her and Katara, "Never mind. Either of them is way too pretty for you. No wonder she left."

Zuko got down from the beast and took a few steps forward, eyes fixed on Aang.

"Your days of running are over"

"What part of 'leave us alone' escapes your understanding?" Iris asked, folding her arms.

He looked at her, "You need to give me some answers!" he demanded

"And what makes you think I will, Buttercup?" she asked, only to see a few fireballs being shot at her. She ducked, rolled, and dodged them, finally stopping. She pulled her one fan, flaring it and her dagger in the other.

"If you want this, you will." he had the audacity to pull her fan and use it as a bargaining chip.

"I think you look manlier with the fan. Consider it a gift from me."

He growled and kicked a couple more fire blasts which she easily deflected and dodged. Something she noticed this time was that he wasn't getting near her. His attacks were long distance and he wasn't giving her much of an opening to her to get close to him. So he does learn, adapt, and evolve his moves according to the opponent. Interesting. Also, she didn't need to physically touch him to petrify but she would definitely do that.

"By the way, just outta curiosity, what questions?" she asked, using _Protego_ to shield herself from the fire. But Zuko didn't reply. He growled again and kicked a fire blast in her way, which she dodged, ducked.

She looked over Zuko's shoulder at the other three and they didn't seem to be doing much better with the woman and her beast. That thing was huge and ferocious and kept on hissing in warning at the kids.

She sprinted, dodging the ducking, and at the last moment, slid under between his legs. She managed to touch his shin and cast a _Petrificus Totalus_. He fell down, paralyzed and stuck. She stood up and approached his fallen self and crouched next to his head.

"When will you learn, Zuko, that you cannot beat me. This is the third time I've done this to you and every time you fall for this." she reached and pulled her fan from where he had tucked it, "And a piece of advice. Do not steal from people who help you. Makes a bad impression."

Zuko just growled, "You won't get away with it"

She chuckled and tilted her head, "Sure, Buttercup."

She stood up and turned around to see the kids. The old man was standing on the side, doing nothing. Just standing. And observing. She narrowed her eyes. He occasionally looked at her, but not once did he come to help Zuko. Weird.

The other three were still busy fighting the woman on the beast. Well, two of them were. Sokka was lying on the ground, looking pretty much paralyzed. So either the woman was a witch, like her (highly unlikely), or it had to be the beast. Next thing she knew, Appa plowed right into the beast, pushing it and its rider. They plowed into a bunch of trees, knocking a hole through them. She looked back at Appa, who had a fiery grin on his face and exhaled loudly.

"Note to self. Do not get on Appa's bad side"

She rushed to the three just as the beast stood back up.

"That monster can paralyze with its tongue!" Sokka yelled from where he was fallen.

Iris looked at him, back at the beast. It can paralyze. And the idea came to her head. She could have done this the simple way but she wasn't liking how the old man was observing them, her especially, and their every move.

Iris brought her fingers to her lips and blew out a loud whistle.

The monster shook its head and then looked in her direction. She noticed that it didn't have eyes, so it was most probably dependant on smell and hearing. Once that thing determined her, it growled. It made a run for her and then lashed out its sharp tongue. Iris smirked and dodged and used both her fan to redirect the tongue towards the woman, who just stood rubbing her head. Before she could realize, her own beast's tongue hit her and she fell on the ground, paralyzed. The beast, well, it ended in the sea unable to control its own momentum.

The old man still did nothing.

She looked at the other three, "We should go."

Aang picked up Sokka and jumped on top of Appa's saddle, followed by Katara and her.

"Appa, yip, yip," Katara called and Appa took off.

Iris approached Sokka and touched his forehead, "Rennervate," she muttered

Sokka sat up with a loud gasp, "That was so uncool."

Iris smiled sympathetically,

"You got your fans. That's good," Katara smiled

"And we kicked some butts," Iris smiled, hoping it could cheer them up, even if a little. It was about 0.5 seconds later she realized how weak that was.

"What was that thing, anyway?" Sokka asked, feeling all his limbs

"Not sure I want to know," Aang answered, "But it was scary. Just a little"

Iris hummed. But the thought about that old man was still in her head. Why was he standing on the side doing nothing? She suspected he was a firebender, then why didn't he join Zuko or that woman? And why was he studying her? Did he know anything about her?

* * *

The following day, late afternoon after some lunch, the quartet had decided to walk for a while.

Katara was walking with Aang, while Iris was with Sokka, the duo discussing their next move and everything. She picked a crisp from the packet Sokka was holding and eating from.

Neva was flying overhead with Momo. Over the course of a few months, the two smaller animals had really struck a very close friendship.

Momo loudly squawked and Neva trilled, grabbing all their attention.

"What happened?" iris asked

The two smaller animals were perched on top of a pillar notice board. Neva bent down and looked at something on the other side of the notice board. Sokka and Aang jogged to it the girls following them.

"This should give us a good idea of what's around here," Katara said, checking the board

Sokka emptied the food packet into his mouth and threw it away, "See if you can find a menu, I'm starving."

Iris rolled her eyes, but checked the notice board, hoping to find some useful information

"I bet we'll find something to eat here!" Aang said "The Fire Days Festival."

Iris walked over to Aang to see a flyer advertising the Fire Days Festival. She tore off the flyer, careful not to damage it

"Fire Nation cultural exhibits...jugglers, benders, magicians." she read

"This would be a great place for me to study some real firebenders!" Aang exclaimed happily

"You might wanna rethink that. Look at this." Sokka said from the opposite side

Iris and Aang walked over to him.

"Hey, a poster of me!" Aang pointed at it

"A wanted poster. This is bad." Sokka shook his head "and you are not alone"

Sokka pointed at another poster. Iris looked at it and her eyes widened a little. It was a wanted poster of her.

"They got my nose wrong" she pouted and tore that poster in shreds. She hated it when people drew her with a button nose because it looked 'cute'/'feminine' or whatever logic they had. No, she had no intention of looking so. She preferred her regular nose, thank you very much.

Iris looked around it further and something caught her eye. Another wanted poster of a blue masked person. She reached for it and pulled it out, reading it

Ok, so not only was the Royal Pain in the ass a wanted vigilante now, he had a bounty on his head. She wondered how long before someone realized that this wanted 'Blue Spirit' was none other than the Fire Nation prince himself. Blue Spirit, huh? Kinda cool name, if he wasn't trying to capture Aang.

"Iris? What do you think?"

She looked at the trio and pocketed the poster

"About what?"

"Aang wants to visit the Fire Days Festival"

Iris's eyes widened

"I have to learn firebending at some point, and this could be my only chance to watch a master up close." Aang reasoned

"I guess we could check it out." Katara sounded highly unsure

"Kid, are you serious right now?" Iris asked

"We'll wear disguises and if it looks like trouble, we'll leave," Aang added

"Yeah because we always leave before we get in trouble, right?" she muttered and crossed her arms. Aang brought forth his most appealing requesting look

Iris shook her head,

"Nope. Not gonna work this time. Last time you gave me that look, we had to deal with pirates, Katara almost stole a waterbending scroll and Jet and his goons. I'm definitely not gonna give in to that look now of all times. Nope. Na da"

"She's got a point" Sokka nodded

"Besides, as far as learning elements go, I thought you had to learn them in a sequence- Air, Water, Earth and then Fire"

"She's right" Sokka nodded

"Walking into Fire Nation territory is risky. If we are unable to get out before time, it would be capturing all over again. Who knows, we might not be as lucky this time as before"

"Totally agreed" Sokka nodded

"It's rather not worth the risk. You need a proper firebending master, not some circus clown who could do fancy-schmancy tricks"

"Hmm-mm" Sokka nodded

"Really?" Katara folded her arms and frowned at Sokka

"What?" Sokka asked

Aang sighed, "You are right."

"Come on" Iris smiled, "I'm sure we can find something much more interesting"

And did they find something more interesting. That night, they found a group of strangers sitting around a bonfire on benches. They shared a look, shrugged and approached them,

"Hey, hi," Iris began, "What's going on here?"

"Oh we are here for the story," A man from the group said

"Story?" Sokka asked

"Hm-mm," the man nodded with a soft smile, "once every week, this man comes around and tells great tales. Mainly about Air Nomads"

Aang perked up at that,

"He will be here tonight?" Aang asked

"Oh yeah, kid," another man from the group said, "You kids are here at the right time too. grab your seat"

The four shared a look, shrugged, and grabbed a front seat.

Soon a man came around with another old man, took a seat in the middle of the circle of people, and after a few minutes began his tale.

Somewhere along, Iris had quit the bench in favor of the ground, her head resting on her folded arms in Katara's lap.

"...So travelers, the next time you think you hear a strange large bird talking, take a closer look, it might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man! A member of a secret group of air walkers who laugh at gravity and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!"

"Aren't Airbender stories the best?" Aang smiled at the rest of them

"Was it realistic? Was that how it was back then?" Katara asked

"I laugh at gravity all the time. Haha! Gravity." Aang chuckled

"Kid, you are the only one who laughs at gravity these days" Iris smiled, eyes closed

"Other than those air walkers, apparently" Sokka snorted

Suddenly a pair of hands holding an open hat appeared in front of Iris. The hands shook the hat and the jingle of coins was heard.

"Jingle, jingle!"

Iris rolled her closed eyes, reached to her jean's pocket, and tossed in a couple of copper.

Before the storyteller could walk away, Aang spoke up,

"Hey, thanks for the story!"

"Tell it to the cap, boy!"

Iris opened her eyes and saw the storyteller thrusting his cap towards Aang,

"He's with me, you tosser" she deadpanned and pulled up. She stretched her arms and yawned.

Momo climbed back on Aang's shoulder, "It means a lot to hear Airbender stories. It must have been a hundred years ago your great-grandpa met them."

"What are you prattling about, child? Great grand-pappy saw the air walkers last week!"

Iris perked up at that, straightening, and looked over the storyteller, before looking at the old man who waved at them.

"Heya!"

Aang looked over his shoulder at her and others, who looked back at her

"hold on a second, you are telling me there are airbenders around?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pardon if there exist some typos or errors. I didn't really get the chance to get this one through a microscopic lens of error-checking. Mainly because I adopted two kittens last week to help with my anxiety problems and so far, they've been amazing. I've been pretty busy with them. I promise the next chapter would be better.
> 
> Well, there's the usual, read and comment. And do let me know if you guys, as readers, got any crazy suggestions or ideas. I'm open to them.
> 
> Ciao


	13. The Northern Air Temple

As soon as the sun broke the horizon, the four were on their way to the Northern Air Temple.

"Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air Temple! This is where they had the championships for sky bison polo." Aang exclaimed. Unfortunately, for him, the other three didn't quite share his enthusiasm.

"Do you think we'll really find airbenders?" Katara asked softly, sitting between Iris and Sokka.

"You want me to be like you, or totally honest?" Sokka asked

"Are you saying I'm a liar?" Katara folded her arms and frowned

"I'm saying you're an optimist. The same thing basically." Sokka shrugged

"Not the same thing. But, there's a difference between wishful thinking, optimism, and reality, Kat. Everyone knows that Fire Nation spared not a single Airbender." Iris replied, pulling her black jumper from the duffel and proceeding to pull it over her shirt.

"So what do you think they are?" Sokka asked

Iris shrugged, smoothing any wrinkles it might have had. "I don't know. What I do know is that Airbenders are not the only ones who can fly"

Katara exhaled and nodded.

"Hey guys, look at this!"

The other three shared a look and looked ahead. There it was, the Northern Air Temple.

It sat atop a sheer peak similar to its sister temple down south. Unlike that temple, however, there were people or things flying around this one. Smoke rose from lazy pillars from a couple of places among the spires. Around the temple flew many gliders.

"Huh! They really are airbenders!" Katara muttered, looking over them

Iris frowned, tucking her bangs behind her ear, "No, they are not"

She looked at Aang, who had said the same thing at the same time and they shared a quick smile,

"What do you mean they're not? Those guys are flying!" Sokka demanded

"They are using air current to glide," Iris said, her eyes on the gliders, "they aren't Airbending"

Aang nodded, "You can tell by the way they move. They're not airbending. Those people have no spirit."

Iris's eyes widened and she reached and pushed the siblings head down and ducked as a glider flew in just an inch or two over their head. And that idiot laughed. Iris looked over, with a huge frown. Teenage, Boy, wearing amber goggles and seated in a glider built out of a wheelchair. Huh, what would you know? He laughed and wheeled his craft around for another pass at Appa.

Iris got on her knees, "What's his problem?" she muttered

She ducked a little when the guy made another pass. Iris just rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly when she heard a familiar click followed by the gust of wind. She turned around and almost groaned. Aang had jumped into the air, flying with his glider, and very obviously competing with the other boy.

And then she realized no one was holding Appa's reins.

The other gliders now started flying in a formation around Appa. Katara fell backward, crashing into Sokka.

"We better find some solid ground before it finds us!" Sokka yelped

Iris lunged and went to grab Appa's reins and got the spot. He would have a hard time navigating the sky with these gliders around. Neva and Momo were very much glaring at the gliders too.

Appa landed quite gracefully on one of the temple's outer terraces. they all shared a relieved looked before Iris bent down,

"You alright, Appa?"

Appa grunted in a reply with a nod.

Iris smiled and petted him. she jumped down followed by the siblings who demounted. The three looked back up in the sky.

It seemed like a game of tag was going on.

"Go, Teo! Show that bald kid how it's done!" Someone from the crowd shouted. Iris turned to look at the crow of kids enjoying the show, then back at the sky. Neva tried to perch on her shoulder while Momo found his place in Katara's arms.

In the sky, Aang continued the pursuit. the wheelchair kid hit his pause, looped backward, and ended up behind Aang. They twirled around each other in a controlled dive.

Suddenly Aang broke his descent, turned, and shot straight upward. He came back to the one of temple's towers, let go of his glider, and started running along the side of the tower. Then he produced an air scooter, jumped on it, and rid it along the outside wall of the tower, his glider still running alongside him. He let the air scooter die and then jumped back on his glider and soared back into the sky.

"Someone's jealous," Iris muttered with a smile. She could only imagine how competitive Aang would have been with his Airbending friends.

In response, the wheelchair kid released a cord on his glider and a cylinder on the back of his glider began to leave a trail of thick grey smoke. He manipulated his glider through loops and arcs, leaving the grey trail behind him.

By the time it was done, it turned out to be a picture of Aang's face, arrow, and all, with a sour expression.

The crowd laughed.

Iris snorted, quite loudly at that. Neva glared at her, but she just shrugged

"I know, I know. But it is funny." Iris chuckled softly

He hovered next to Aang but Aang just turned and landed next to them, folding his glider. The wheelchair kid landed his glider right behind, skidding only a bit before he applied his hand brake and come to a stop. A bunch of kids came up and detached the glider from his wheelchair. He then wheeled over to them.

"Hey! You're a REAL Airbender! You must be the Avatar! That's amazing! I, I, I've heard stories about you." he gushed

Aang suddenly turned embarrassed, "Thanks."

"Wow! This glider chair is incredible!" Sokka exclaimed, his inner geek making an appearance

Two random girls brought the glider setup back for Sokka to inspect.

"If you think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my Dad designed." the kid chuckled, turned started wheeling inside. Iris shared a quick look with Neva but joined the other three to follow the kid.

"So, you live here?" she asked

He nodded, "Yeah with my dad and bunch of other people"

"And your name?" Iris raised a brow

He sheepishly chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "Sorry about that. I'm Teo"

"Iris." she introduced, "And this is Aang, Katara, and the nerd is Sokka"

Sokka was so engrossed in inspecting the setup, he didn't even hear the remark.

Teo led them through the main hallway. Iris looked around, taking a spin to observe the whole place. It was not only slightly different from the Southern Temple but gave the same vibes. And energy. But for some reason, it was not as strong as it had been down south. There the energy called to her. Here, it was just...present. She didn't how to describe what she felt but something wasn't right about this place. She still tried to hold on to the earlier excitement for the sake of the kids, though.

But all that excitement died when they entered the main chamber. That place was dominated by a jumble of steam-powered machinery with many wheels, gears, and pipes. It was not pretty at all.

A beautiful statue of an Airbender monk, who looked somewhat like Gyatso, sat on a recessed portico in the wall, but it too seemed dirty and befouled as did the rest of the room. Shafts of sunlight filtered in, but the steam and dust just made it look shadowy.

And that made Iris a little angry. She understood that this world was right now in its infancy when it came to technological developments, but to destroy such a beautiful temple only to use it as a site for experimentations and construction was not only amoral but downright rude and insensitive.

"Wow!"

She looked at Sokka, who was looking at the machinery like a kid who got an early Christmas present.

"Yeh, my Dad is the mastermind behind this whole place! Everything's powered by hot air. It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift when we're gliding."

Iris scoffed. Considering that world she was from, these looked like some huge-ass high school science experiments. She'd know because she was forced to make Dudley's for a couple of years.

"This place is unbelievable."

She looked at Aang, who looked sad and hurt. And she understood where he was. If someone tore down Hogwarts to make something like this...she shuddered a little. She did not wanna think of it that way. After all, no one would wanna think of their home in such a dilapidated state, let alone see.

"Yeh, it's great isn't it?" Teo asked, excited

"No, just unbelievable." Aang deadpanned

Aang walked to the statue and Iris followed him. While he was looking at the statue, she stood next to him and kept a hand on his shoulder

"I'm sorry about this, kid. I'm sure this place would have been beautiful without all this junk in here." she softly said

Aang just shrugged, "What's done is done, right?"

He turned to look at something. Iris followed his gaze. It was a huge wall mural and so gorgeous. But right now it was gritty and dirty. Worse, many of the figures and shapes in the mural had been destroyed since many pipes now and entered and exited the wall here. No wonder this place's energy was receding.

"This is supposed to be the history of my people," Aang muttered sadly

Iris pressed her lips together and just wrapped an arm around him. Katara approached them and placed her hand on Aang's shoulder too. Aang sighed, and pulling from the girls' embrace, he walked to the huge statue that once had a fountain attached to it. Now the fountain basin was full of green industrial-looking effluence that had bubbles and spirits. The statue then emitted a cloud of black smoke from its mouth, startling Aang.

"I'm sure some parts of the temple are still the same." Katara tried

Iris looked at the young waterbender, then back at the statue. Naive optimism was all that was.

Following that, Teo led them to the main courtyard where the rest of the Airbender statues resided. And this place looked quite original and untouched. She looked at Aang, who had a small satisfied smile on his face, which made her smile.

"It's nice to see even one part of the temple that isn't ruined." Aang sighed

There was a huge recessed statue of an Airbender monk. And it was very...refreshingly ancient, but in a good way.

Suddenly,

"Look out!"

In another second, the statue disintegrated as a wrecking ball smashed through it. Iris just froze, pretty sure her jaw was hitting the very ground. She just blinked to keep the dust out of her eyes. Her eyes found the huge hole that was slowly getting visible as the dust started settling. She was pretty sure she even stopped breathing for a few seconds.

How...what...who...THE FUCK?!

It was Neva who trilled loudly in her ear to break her stupor.

Who was this stupid son of a fucking bitch who decided to demolish an Air Temple?

As the dust settled completely, many figures could be seen through the hole the wrecking ball just created. One of them walked forward, a middle-aged man with a bald head and weird patches of pointy hair on either side of his head. His right eye had a red monocle. He wore a green tunic mostly covered by the white smock or apron of an artisan.

"What the doodle! Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the bathhouse!" the man said

Iris had no idea what possessed her. Was it the fading energy of the place that was slowly deteriorating because of the technology buildup? Was it the fact that these idiots were destroying a goddamn beautiful temple to make a bathhouse?! Or was it the fact that they were being entitled assholes who were most probably squatting at the sacred temple? Or...Or...she had on idea what it was, but she just yelled

"Are you motherfuckers outta your mind?!"

Okay, that might have been her Scottish ancestry making a cameo appearance. But it was enough to get every single person's attention.

Now, Iris rarely got angry, that was something the siblings knew and something Aang had learned since the Unagi incident. But what was rarer was her swearing. Whenever anyone of those three had heard her swear, it was always under her own breath, but never out loud, let alone yelling. But she literally seemed so mad by the look on her face, Neva flew off to be on the safe side. And Neva never leaves her owner.

The other three stepped back a few. Something about the atmosphere changed so quickly it was easily noticeable.

Aang was just as mad but wasn't good at showing so.

"Do you have any idea what you absolute twats have done?" she demanded

Aang walked up to her, pulling out his staff and slamming it on the floor, to show his own displeasure, "You just destroyed something sacred! For a stupid bathhouse!"

The man just waved his hand in front of his nose suggestively, "Well, people around here are starting to stink."

"This whole place stinks!" Aang yelled

Aang struck the ground with his staff, sending a gale back through the hole in the wall. The wrecking ball and its entire rig were blown off the building's rock foundation and fell into the crevices below.

If Aang was surprised by the damage his one attack did, he didn't voice it. Somehow, he did feel stronger and more in control of his powers. But right now, he had bigger matters at hand.

"This is a sacred temple! You can't treat it this way." Aang exclaimed

"You idiots just destroyed relics which were meant to be preserved and studied by future generations," Iris wasn't yelling but she sounded just as angry, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself"

"I've seen it when the monks were here. I know what it's supposed to be like." Aang added

"The monks? But you're 12!" The man replied, a bit surprised

"Dad, he's the Avatar. He used to come here a hundred years ago." Teo explained. Right this man, this absolute filthy obnoxious idiot was Teo's father.

Aang advanced to the man and Iris didn't stop him.

"What are you doing? Who said you could be here?" Aang demanded

"Hmmm... doing here..." the man turned away a little, "A long time ago, but not a hundred years, my people became refugees after a terrible flood," he gestured for the effect to show the size of the flood, then stood behind his son's wheelchair, "My infant son, Teo, was badly hurt and lost his mother." he sniffed holding back his tears, "I needed somewhere to rebuild and I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it! Everywhere pictures of flying people. But empty! Nobody home! Then I came across these fan-like contraptions!"

He put his hands out and extended his arms as if they were wings and made flying motions across the courtyard for emphasis. He stopped in front of Aang and Iris.

"Our gliders." Aang deadpanned, hold on his staff tightening.

"Yes, little light flying machines. They gave me an idea. Build a new life for my son, in the air! Then everyone would be on equal ground, so to speak! We're just in the process of improving upon what's already here and after all, isn't that what nature does?"

"Oh please," Iris scoffed, "grow up. We get it, tragedy struck your family. Boo-hoo. Lemme tell you, each and everyone here has gone through personal traumas. Some of us more than once. You are not special. And that doesn't give you the right to break into an Air Temple, of all places, and claim it for yourself. This place is ancient and deserves to be preserved for its history and everything. So basically you are nothing but some entitled asshole. There are so many cities and villages that provide a roof to refugees. Like fucking Ba-Sing-Se! Even Omashu! So stop making excuses for your lazy ass!"

She turned and left, fuming. She was pretty sure if she stuck around for another 10 seconds, she'd start hexing the man. How could they? Did they have hearts and brains or what?

* * *

Inside the temple,

After Iris left, awkward silence followed. No one knew what to say. That was until Teo's dad suggested some stuff he was working on and it got Sokka all excited. After Sokka ran after Teo's dad, it left Teo, Aang, and Katara there.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Teo asked

"What?"

"huh?"

"Iris?"

Aang and Katara shared a look,

"We...actually don't know." Katara replied, "She doesn't get mad much."

"This was the first time I heard her swear," Aang added

"But she can take care of herself," Katara added

Teo looked between he two benders, then shrugged

"Hey Aang, I want to show you something."

* * *

Iris ended up in some random courtyard where she sat down on the edge. Her green eyes gazed over the serene surrounding around the temple. She sighed, pulling one knee to her chest and wrapping her arms around it. Neva swooped in and settled on her other leg and started preening herself.

She was still pretty mad at everything. How could these absolute idiots destroy something that was worth preserving or its history and beauty? Didn't they know that Airbenders were extinct except one?

she took a deep breath. Deciding that it would be rather better to pay Duova a visit rather than stew in her own problems all by herself, she settled in the lotus position and brought her knuckles together and closed her eyes, easying her breathing.

About a few seconds later, she found herself in the spirit world. She exhaled, opened her eyes, and stretched her arms, and got up, stretching more. she closed her eyes, inhaling the calming scent of the valley.

She sighed, opened her eyes, and looked around.

Weird.

"Duova?" she called and walked to the tree, looking around. No one.

"Duova?" she called again.

"Anyone here?" she stepped back and walked around, "Duova?"

Nothing.

Shrugging, and a little suspicious, she crouched to the ground. It wasn't like Duova to disappear without any prior notice. And where would she even go? Sure the Spirit World was vast and almost endless(far as she had heard) Duova always met her here, since she could always sense her energy whenever she'd visit the spirit world.

She closed her eyes and touched the ground, feeling the energy. The spirit energy was in abundance. She easily pushed past all that and went looking for the energy signature of the energybending master.

It was looking for a needle in a haystack. But the good thing was that she was the magnet.

Maybe after a minute, she felt a little blip of energy she instantly recognized as Duova's. But something was...different? Like warning alarms going in her head.

She pulled back but before she could get up, she felt the hair in the back of her neck rise. On an instant instinct, she pulled her dagger and then,

_Clang!_

She had blocked a shiny sharp silver jagged dagger barely above her face. The dagger was held in a pale hand, attached to a thin pale arm, attached to none other than,

"Duova?" Iris asked, eyes wide, almost bewildered

That momentary distraction gave Duova a bit of an edge as she pushed against Iris's dagger. The moment she realized that her master was not in the mood of small talk and was for some reason more interested in stabbing her in the face, Iris pushed her back and stood up, getting her footing.

"Are we gonna talk now or later?" she asked.

"Later." Duova deadpanned and readied shiny silver daggers in both of her hands. Iris quickly pocketed her dagger and pulled out her metallic fans, flaring them. Duova raised a brow.

"Earth Kingdom?"

Iris shrugged, "I prefer diversity"

without another word, Duova gracefully lunged at her. Iris did her best to block Duova. Surprisingly, Duova's fighting style was not something she had ever seen.

Iris herself wasn't a 'trained' fighter, be it modern or martial arts. As a young girl, she picked a little stuff more from watching action films in telly, and a few other sources, and practicing all by herself. That was all she had under the name of self-defense before she had met Suki. She learned and adapted Suki's fighting style to incorporate what she had learned over the years. But Duova's style was completely different from what she had learned or ever seen in telly. Not that she had everything there was about fighting.

Duova was going for her joints, pressure points, veins limbs among other important and vulnerable body parts. And not just with the dagger, but with her palms, elbows, and even knees.

Iris winced when Duova's dagger slid across her forearm below the elbow. She glanced at it. the cut was long, sleek and slowly blood was flowing from it, dripping on the ground in drops.

"I think it would be enough for today," Duova slid back her daggers into the sheathes inside her sleeves(?) and stood straight.

"No kidding" she deadpanned, tucking her fans. She swiped her hands over the cut and pressed it, trying to stop the flow, "You cut me pretty neat," she pressed harder, but the blood just flowed. She looked up at Duova, "How come blood ain't stopping?"

"A small...trick." Duova smirked, "I was under the impression, you knew healing spells"

"I do." She pressed harder, casting the required spell.

Nothing happened.

"Oh, I might have forgotten to mention that bending doesn't work in spirit world."

Iris blinked at her before groaning.

"You know you could have put that disclaimer way earlier," Iris grumbled and then settled on the ground, paused, and looked back at Duova, "Then how then hell I have been able to do everything I have been doing so far?"

Duova smiled, setting opposite,

"Energy manipulation is not hard to be done across worlds. Using...what you call spells in the spirit realm is not something that can be done."

Iris blinked and pulled her knees in a cross,

"You know I had this thought a while ago and every time I'd forget to ask whenever I visited."

"what is it, dear?"

Iris inhaled sharply, "According to our hypothesis, modern-day magicals are the descendants of energybenders, alright? I, being a modern-day witch can do stuff you can. Can you do the spellwork, potions, and stuff?"

"That is not how evolution works, Iris." Duova chuckled, "If you can recall human history in either world, there are a lot of things that 'modern' people can do that ancient person also did, while the ancient people couldn't do what 'modern' people could.

What you grew up calling and using as magic is just a highly evolved form of energybending. I'm afraid that even if do try to teach me your ways, I simply can't learn"

" I suppose" Iris muttered, "so what was the meaning of this...everything?"

"You needed to learn our ways of fighting as well. One which doesn't require bending. And you are good"

"I am?"

Duova smiled, "I've been watching over you, remember? I also saw the practice session you had with that Earth Kingdom girl who gave you your fans. Our fighting style comes natural to you for some reason, one which I do not know."

"Creepy but thank you? I don't know maybe it had something to do with my subconscious mind? Also, I thought fighting with bending was everything, like every other bender."

"That is what separates us from others. Unlike others, we are taught from our childhood not to be completely dependant on our bending abilities. It wasn't uncommon for our clan elders to take the bending of a person who would be deemed unworthy of it and cast out. At that moment, he or she should know how to defend themselves in the wild.

Our children who are not born with the ability to bend were also taught of our fighting ways. So they can survive once they leave the nest."

"Leave or pushed out?" Iris muttered

"what was that?"

Iris looked at Duova, "Nothing. Just speaking to myself, that's all"

Duova whispered something oddly similar to, "kids these days", which made Iris internally chuckle.

"As for your reaction to the destruction of the Northern Air Temple, I-"

"I'm not apologizing" iris scoffed

"I wasn't going to ask that, dear. Your heart might have been in the right place, but your reaction was slightly...excess"

Iris gave Duova a bored look, "They destroyed the temple"

"It's not your temple. It's Avatar Aang's peoples' temple"

Iris inhaled, "Do we have anything else for today?"

Duova just gave her a plain look, "Somewhere you need to be?"

"Well, more like I need to tend this," she showed her arm where the clean-cut was still bleeding. As she had come to know, the bruises she'd get in here would also affect her body in the physical world.

duova nodded, "I'm be expecting you soon to further your lessons."

"Of course you would. Won't you love to kick my arse"

Duova just chuckled.

Iris stretched her arms before getting back in the position, but paused, "Hey, Duova, does this fighting style of yours has a name?"

Duova nodded, "It is called Phoenix Claw"

Iris blinked, "Great. Cool. Totally not intimidating." she muttered and went back to meditating.

She took a deep breath returning to the physical world. Slowly opened her eyes to see that it was well past noon. She looked down at her arm. Yup, cut and bleeding. She pressed the arm, placing some healing spells. Soon enough she felt the skin stitch back and soon enough the wound was no longer there. Just a thin long scar, barely visible.

Neva chirped, making her presence known. Iris smiled, petted her, and got up.

"where's everyone?" she asked

Neva just gave a loose shrug. Iris looked around and found everyone but the kids. With a shrug, she decided to look inside the temple.

Iris walked to the hallway, "where is everyone?"

"Iris!"

she turned around to see Aang, Katara, and Teo

"Hey"

"where were you?"

"With Duova," she replied

"Oh," Aang muttered

"Teo showed me how to fly!" Katara gushed

"Did he now?" She looked at Teo with an intimidating smile. So far, she didn't get any bad vibes from Teo whatsoever. He genuinely seemed like a nice kid.

"Yeah. I hope it was alright," Teo rubbed the back of his head

"As long as I get her back in a single piece" Iris chuckled, "Now, where are you lot heading to? While we are at it, where's Sokka?"

"Sokka's with my dad," Teo answered, "and Aang wanted to show me the sealed chamber"

"the what now?" Iris asked

"You remember that sanctuary back at the Southern Air Temple?" Aang asked

Iris nodded

"there's one here too."

"that was the only room we could never open since it requires airbending," Teo added

"I see" Iris hummed, "Mind if I tag along?"

"sure"

"That'd be great!"

Iris smiled. Soon the four, and one phoenix and one lemur were standing in front of the temple door.

"I can't believe I'm finally going to see what's inside." Teo was grinding from ear to ear

Aang inhaled sharply and then airbent two jets of air, one from each arm, into the horns at the bottom of the woodcut. The air ran through the tubes and one by one flipped the air symbols from the blue sides which had been showing, to the maroon sides which had been facing the interior of the temple. As each turned, it flipped another mechanism on the outside of a door.

Slowly the huge wooden doors of the sanctuary opened.

Iris expected to see some new relics and stuff but whatever she saw was a fucking thunderbolt compared the what she saw earlier.

The once beautiful sanctuary was now is filled with evil-looking war machines and torture devices. The worst part, they all had the Fire Nation Insignia.

"This is a nightmare," Aang said

"That'd be an understatement, kid," Iris muttered, taking a step further in the room. The sanctuary, which was supposed to be brimming, if not overflowing, with spirit energy, now barely had any. It was as bad as Hei-Bai's forest, if not worse.

"You don't understand." She heard Teo's father's voice behind her

she turned around and her hand quickly went for her dagger. This place was bloody dying and he was the reason.

Aang pointed a finger at him, very angry by the way he spoke, "You're making weapons for the Fire Nation!"

"You make weapons for the Fire Nation!?" Sokka asked angrily, from behind the man.

At least the man had the decency to look humiliated and guilty.

"Explain all this! Now!" Teo demanded

"It was about a year after we moved here. Fire Nation soldiers found our settlement. You were too young to remember this tale. They were going to destroy everything, burn it to the ground. I pleaded with them, I begged them to spare us. They asked what I had to offer. I offered... my services. You must understand, I did this for you!"

Teo didn't respond. He just turned and wheelchaired away. His father turned and left down the hall.

"Just when I thought things couldn't get worse." Iris folded her arms

"Now what?" Katara asked

Iris took a deep breath

"the best we can do is face the situation head-on. If his dad has been dealing with Fire Nation the whole time, he's the one we need to speak to. And someone needs to deal with the enthusiastic flying crowd outside too."

"Sokka and I'll handle the crowd." Katara offered

Iris looked at them both and nodded, "Kid and I will get Teo and go see his dad"

And they split to work. Aang and Iris went to find Teo. Once they did, they convinced him to accompany them to his father.

Iris didn't think before blasting the door open to Teo's dad's office.

"When are they coming?" Aang demanded

"Soon." he looked at a clock which sparked one, "Very soon."

"You can't give them more weapons," Aang argued

"If I don't give them what they want they will destroy this place."

"and if you'll supply them more weapons they destroy hundreds of towns, cities and Merlin knows how many people. Do you really want all that blood on your hands?"

Teo's dad looked at them all,

"How can I be proud of you when your inventions are being used for murder?" Teo asked

"I need some time to think." the man replied. A few seconds later, a little bell tinkled. He swiftly turned to them, "You need to leave! Go!"

"We're not leaving!" Teo exclaimed

"what he said." Iris nodded

The man approached them in about three long strides and shooed them behind some stuff, "Then hide, quickly!"

Iris just shared a quick guarded look with Aang, as she pulled her dagger and readied it in her hand also casting a silencing spell around them. She wasn't going to take any chance. They peered over their hiding place. Teo's dad pulled a lever and a wheel built into the floor began to turn rapidly. A trap door on the floor next to the wheel opened and steam rose through the opening.

A man in Fire Nation garb rose through the opening. He was standing on a square of wood that flushed with the rest of the floor when the elevator completed its movement.

"You know better than to keep me waiting." the newcomer said to Teo's father and approached him, "Give me what you owe us so I can be on my way."

Teo's dad looked down.

"Well?" the fire nation man put his face in Teo's dad's face, "Is there a problem?"

Teo's dad sighed, motioning out of the door, "No, right this way."

"We have to do something now," Teo harshly whispered

Iris shared a quick look with Aang and they nodded at each other. In another second, he clammed the door close with a blast of air.

"The deal's off!" Aang declared, stepping off and Iris removed the spell. By then she had traded her dagger for her fans.

"I'm afraid this trip is the last one and you are gonna leave empty-handed"

"The Avatar and his companion!" the fire nation man exclaimed

"We are flattered" Iris tilted her head with a smile

"Iris, Aang, don't get involved!"

"If I don't get what I came for the Fire Nation will burn this place to rubble!" The Fire Nation man snapped at Teo's dad

Iris frowned and cast a jelly leg curse. Once he lost his balance, Aang hit him with an air whip

"Get out." Iris deadpanned, her voice dangerously low

"You're leaving empty-handed!"

Iris wasn't sure if it was supposed to happen, but the man got quite red in the face and pointed a finger, accusingly at her and Aang,

"Then the destruction of this temple will be on your head."

The man tried to stand but tripped. She had to bite the inside of her cheek from laughing and antagonizing the man further. The third time he tried, with the help of a wall, glared at them, his face redder than before and barely managing to stand, somehow made it to the trapdoor and down the elevator. For once, Irs had a little idea of the amount of discomfort the man was facing. His legs were literally like jellies. He must be really good at hiding stuff, especially his pain and discomfort.

Aang slammed the trapdoor shut with gout of wind.

"He isn't to wallow about this. He's gonna come back. And not alone this time"

Teo's dad nodded.

"Let's see how Kat and Sokka have done"

By the time they made it out, the siblings had cleared out the crowd. At least most of them.

"This is bad! Very bad!" Sokka was literally clutching his hair

"Sokka, pull it together." Iris calmly said, "I'd rather you not go bald at this age."

Sokka shot her a dirty glare, which she ignored

"What are we gonna do? How can we possibly keep them all away?" Katara asked

For once, Iris had no clue. Sure, give her a Fire Nation army and she'd kick most of their butts. But here, there was a difference in terrain. Not to mention they had no idea what all did the Fire Nation have under their bloody sleeves (pun intended).

Thankfully, Aang stepped up.

"I'll tell ya how." he pointed at the sky, "We have something they don't. Airpower! We control the sky. That' something the Fire Nation can't do. We can win!"

"I want to help."

the quartet and Teo turned to see Teo's father

Aang smiled, "Good, we'll need it."

* * *

A few minutes later they were in Teo's dad's office, where he nd Sokka started explaining the experiments they'd be using.

"We finally got the war balloon working, thanks to Sokka."

Iris frowned a little, mostly confused, and folded her arms, "You mean a hot air balloon with propellers that fuels with a steam engine by burning coal at a constant temperature?"

she was given surprising looks.

"What? I just wanted to know I got the right thing!"

"You knew about it?" Sokka asked

"I just wagered a guess" she replied

"You," Sokka pointed a finger at her, "got to tell me everything you know from your time and place"

Iris smiled amused and raised her arms in surrender, "You got it, boss." she dropped her hands, "but we got bigger fish to fry."

Sokka nodded and went to a miniature hot-air balloon prop

"See, the problem with the old war balloon was you could get it airborne, but once you did, it just kep-"

Iris groaned very loudly

"I'm pretty sure everyone here would appreciate a good ol' science lesson Sokka but now is neither the best time nor the best place. Just get to the point"

"We put a lid to control the flow of hot air into the balloon. If you control the hot air, you control the war balloon." he quickly demonstrated by pulling a string connected to the lid that opened and closed it.

"Hmm. That's actually pretty smart." Katara said

"What we got for ammo?" Iris asked

"Okay, we've got four kinds of bombs. Smoke, slime, fire, and..."

"...stink. Never underestimate the power of stink!" Teo's dad continued

* * *

Outside the lower terrace, many current residents of the temple were standing.

"They're coming!" A little girl pointed

Iris inhaled sharply

"Are we ready?" Teo asked

"Yes, but where's Sokka with the war balloon?" Katara asked

Aang jumped off Appa and unfolded his glider, "No clue."

"Guess it's splitting up then." Iris muttered, "Think you can handle the front? The last thing I want to do is leave Sokka unsupervised with your dad." she looked at Teo, "No offense"

Teo just shrugged.

"We got it here." Aang nodded at her, a fierce determination on his childish face.

Iris pressed her lips together "Okay." She took a quick breath, "Be careful"

With that, she turned and rushed downstairs to where Sokka and Teo's dad were making the last-minute adjustments. She entered the room to view their ride. The balloon is red and decked out with a Fire Nation symbol. Its removable top and tail fin gave it a vague blimp-like shape. The Mechanist and Sokka had adjusted a basket below the balloon. The basket also contained the coal-burning plant that provided the heat for the balloon's air. Attached to the basket were 8 four huge sacks of material to be used for ballast.

"We need to go, now" she declared

"Yes, yes, of course, Iris. Let me just," he lit the furnace located at the base of the balloon.

"Not sure that would cut it." she muttered and entered the basket area of the balloon, pulling her fans, "Step back"

Teo's dad just blinked at her in confusion while Sokka slowly pulled him away.

she opened the furnace and looked at the balloon slowly inflating.

"Alright, let's do it" she exhaled and aiming her fans, used Ventus. The gusts of wind would enter the furnace. But rather than kill it, the winds would heat up and travel into the balloon

She grunted, making the winds stronger and bigger with every strike.

"We're good, Iris" Sokka said

she stopped, panting and tucked back her fans. She approached the edge and looked down. Yup, the balloon was floating alright, just held to the ground by a thick rope.

"We don't have much time to waste," she grunted. Teo's dad and Sokka jumped in and iris cut off the rope. Teo's dad pulled another thick string and the ceiling opened and the balloon flew out

"When did you have the time to make the ceiling thing?" Iris asked

Teo's dad shrugged with an apologetic smile, "I was tinkering around"

Iris looked over the edge as they rose into the sky, eyeing all the Fire Nation mini-military.

"Hey, why aren't they shooting at us?" Sokka asked

"Fire Nation symbol." iIis pointed at the huge red balloon.

Teo's dad nodded, "They think we're on their side!"

"And that's a good thing" Iris nodded

Sokka grinned, bent down to cut a certain rope with his knife, "Then I guess they won't see this coming."

"Exactly." Iris returned the grin

"Bomb away!"

With that declaration from Teo's father, Sokka cut off the rope. Iris also pulled her dagger and cut off whatever rope was required. One of the ballast sacks dropped and blew in a huge explosion of slime on the ground, followed by the other bombs. The two dropped the other three bombs. The slime washed most of the infantry away, but the tanks continued. They reached the next cliff to scale and began to use their grappling hooks.

"Oh no! That was the last one!" Sokka exclaimed

Iris pressed her lips, thinking of the damage that would happen should she blow up that particular cliff and end up burying them, Fire Nation, all under huge landslide/chunks of rock.

"Wait a second, you smell that?"

That broke Iris's train of thoughts

"Smell what?" she asked, looking at Teo's dad

Sokka too sniffed the air and his eyes widened, "Rotten eggs!"

"Where the hell do you smell rotten eggs?" Iris asked

"Outside"

Iris bent over the basket and peered down and inhaled. And she was hit with a disgusting smell of rotten eggs. She pulled back, wincing and looked at the two guys,

"I suppose this means something to you?"

"This means we have a way to stop this attack," Teo's father said

"That's amazing. Now, how are going to locate the escape point? The gas is...everywhere"

Sokka peered over the basket and pointed at a crevasse.

"There! That's where the gas is escaping!"

"Stupid question," Iris muttered and looked at Sokka who had this weird look on his face. Like that of a kid who knows how to do a prank and get away with it. To her surprise, he asked her help to remove the coal-burning joint of the balloon overboard.

"What are you doing!? That's our fuel source!" Teo's father demanded

"It's the only bomb we've got!" Sokka replied

"What?" Iris asked, "Sokka, I'm really not getting anything you are saying"

"Do you want a good ol' science lesson now?"

Iris blinked, looked between Sokka, Teo's dad, then back at Sokka, "What am I to do?"

Together, the two teens removed the joint and then threw it overboard into the crevasse. It hit the sides on its way down. They just had to wait for about 10 seconds once it hit the ground before there were sudden series of enormous, fiery explosions buffeting the base of the temple. Pretty soon the whole temple is covered in smoke.

"Please tell we didn't just blow up the temple," Iris muttered, horror slowly creeping its way into her mind

"No. But the Fire Nation is retreating" Teo's father said. Iris looked on the side and in fact, the Fire Nation was retreating.

A grin grew on the face but sudden lightheadedness appeared

"The fuck?" she muttered when she noticed something,

"Uh Sokka?"

"Yeah?"

"Wasn't that furnace joint supposed to keep us in the air?"

Realization dawned on both Sokka and Teo's dad a second later. Sokka ran to the edge and looked down,

"We're going down!" he screamed

She vaguely heard Katara shout something. Her main focus was not doing a crash landing that could hurt them all pretty bad.

she looked around, thinking of ways to stop the crash-landing when she spotted Aang flying towards them in his glider and some rope.

"Sokka, quick, tie it to your boomerang. Kid's coming"

Sokka did that without a further comment of question. Looking out, she whistled loudly. Neva appeared in a couple of seconds, trilling

"Hold onto the other end," Iris said. Neva nodded and perched on one edge of the basket.

Once tight enough, Sokka swung it around,

"Get ready!" he called

As Aang flew by, Sokka threw the boomerang. It caught on Aang's foot. Sokka tied it to the one edge of the basket.

"Pull"

Both Neva and Aang pulled. While it didn't take them to their original elevation, it sure slowed down their crash landing.

"On three, jump" iris ordered

"what if we get hurt?" Teo's dad asked

"We'll be fine!" she exclaimed, "one...two...three"

On three, all three of them jumped, rolling on the ground until they stopped. Iris inhaled a long deep breath, assessing her body. She felt a weird feeling on her left collarbone. Either it was broken or she dislocated her shoulder. Damn, she hated that easily got bruised/injured.

Raising herself, on the other hand, she got up. Good thing she wore a jumper and jeans, so almost no scratches. Stradling her hurt arm, she looked around.

Neva flew in and perched on her unhurt shoulder, rubbing her head into Iris's cheek.

"I'm fine, Neva" she muttered when a tiring groan attracted her attention. She rushed to find Sokka lying on the ground, almost spread-eagle. She crouched next to him.

"Are you okay, Sokka?"

"am I bleeding?"

Iris frowned and checked him over

"Not that I can see," she muttered and kept a hand on his forehead.

"Nope. You are fine. Just a couple scratches"

Sokka looked at her, "I'm alright, then"

Iris extended her arm, which Sokka grabbed and she pulled him up. Once up, he dusted himself then noticed that she was keeping her one arm close to her chest

"what happened to your arm?"

"Broke or dislocated. I'll check it later. Where are the other two?"

"Are you guys okay?"

The two looked over to see Aang coming over with Teo's father, both perfectly fine.

"Yeah. We'll live" Iris replied.

Aang noticed her arm but he didn't say anything.

"We should get back"

* * *

As soon as the trio approached the main terrace of the temple, Katara rushed to them, checking them all over. And as soon as she saw her arm, she started chiding, made her seat and pulled the water out of her skin

"I can heal it, Kat" Iris sighed

"Maybe. But I can stop it from getting worse"

Iris just rolled her eyes, but there remained a fond smile on her face. Thankfully it wasn't broken, just dislocated. Once Katara healed the tissue/muscle damage, Iris took a deep breath and popped it back with an almost sickening pop.

"I hate it," she muttered, pulling her jumper. Neva trilled next to her, looking longingly att he Hermit Crabs crawling on the stone she was sitting on. Iris snorted. Neva was under strict orders to not eat the crabs, no matter how tempting they looked.

"Sorry, Neva. Can't help it" she petted her phoenix

"You know what?" Aang began, "I'm really glad you guys all live here now. It's like the hermit crab," he picked one from the stone bench, "maybe you weren't born here, but you found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other."

"That means a lot coming from you." Teo smiled

Next thing, both Teo and his father turned to her.

"What?" she asked, unexpecting the sudden attention.

"Do you forgive us?" Teo's father asked

"Well, for making and supplying weapons to the Fire Nation, no, not really. But I'm glad you finally grew a spine and chose to do the right thing than the easy one. Thank you for that." she shrugged, "As for making this temple your home and renovating it, while also destroying its authenticity and heritage, it's not my place to say anything. I'm not an Air Nomad." she paused, "which also means I won't be apologizing for anything I said"

"I wasn't expecting any" Teo's father apologetically smiled

Iris just shrugged in response.

"Aang, you were right about airpower." Sokka pointed at the sky, "As long as we've got the skies we'll have the Fire Nation on the run!"

The crowd cheered over the small victory they just had that day.

* * *

Iris was laying her eyes half open and body weirdly heavy. Others weren't better either. Neva was lying next to her, almost passed out.

"I'm not one to complain, but can't Appa fly any higher?" Sokka asked

Iris groaned and buried her face into her elbow curve.

"I have an idea, why don't we all get on your back and you can fly us to the North Pole?" she heard Aang snap

"I'd love to! Climb on everyone" there was a pause, "Sokka's ready for takeoff!"

"Sit down, Sokka" iris ordered and Sokka complied, "Stop patronizing Aang"

"Look, we're all just a little tired and cranky because we've been flying for two days straight." Katara reason

"You can say that again" Iris muttered and flipped to lie on her back

"And for what?" Sokka demanded, "We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe. There's nothing up here."

Suddenly a noise was heard up ahead.

"What the..." Iris muttered and sat up. Her eyes widened to see a huge piece of ice moving towards Appa

Aang actually screamed ad pulled Appa's reins to starboard. Appa banked right and avoided the ice, but almost tipped his passengers off the saddle, who hanged on for dear life. Appa then banked left as another jet of ice erupted out of the waves, but this one slammed into Appa's underside, who dropped in an uncontrolled spin into the water.

Iris winced hard, holding onto Neva, "son of a motherf-"

"They're waterbenders! We found the Water Tribe!"

Iris stopped and opened her eyes.

Surrounding them, on wooden rafts were indeed water-tribe people. But they weren't looking very happy.

"someone else thinks we should have sent a memo beforehand?" she asked, getting to stand up

"Identify yourselves, strangers." a man with a whale tooth spear commanded

And suddenly Iris found herself under the expecting gaze of three kids.

"Great" she muttered. Being the responsible adult wasn't fun, was it?

"We are from the Southern Water Tribe. We are traveling with the Avatar." she gestured towards Aang, "We are here seeking help and sanctuary"

Murmurs broke amongst the men. But the commander did end up recognizing the airbending tattoos and since it was a fact that Air Nomads were extinct, it was fair to believe that Aang was the Avatar.

The commander then bowed to Aang and asked them to follow him.

And pretty soon they arrive at their destination,

"There it is!" Aang exclaimed

Iris eyed the huge wall of ice, with the whole towers and turrets in awe. How come they didn't have places like back home in the UK?

"The Northern Water Tribe..." Katara said in an awe

"We're finally here..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my college has restarted and it's hella hectic. So therefore my frequency of updating would be decreasing. It's nearly 2AM and now is the time I'm getting when everyone in the house is asleep. Good ol' times.
> 
> I hope everyone else had better days.
> 
> Read, Comment, Kudos, you know the regular drill
> 
> Ciao


	14. The Waterbending Master

To put it in the most simple way, the Northern Water Tribe was absolutely beautiful and much much different from the Southern Tribe.

From the way, their main entrance opened to the way people were living, so calmly, peacefully, and untouched by the war raging outside.

As soon as they were welcomed into the city, the huge entrance closed after them, again becoming a huge thick wall of ice. The commander gestured them to follow him and his boat into the city center, she guessed.

The whole city was made of ice and was breathtakingly beautiful. It also had three interior walls in addition to the main city walls. All the way in the back was apparently some sort of citadel or temple.

The city didn't have any roads or streets, rather it had canals and streams. Which was smartly gorgeous. Appa followed the Water Tribe skiff through the canals. Soon more people joined around to watch them. Well, it was the first time some might have seen an air bison. In fact, as they went, small crowds of people began to gawk at them from houses and footbridges.

Aang waved at them as they passed. Katara and Sokka were sightseeing. The only person uncomfortable was Iris. She just hated attention in any and every form. Iris tried her best to not focus on the gawking crowds and rather enjoy the city.

The city was loaded with beautiful streams, waterfalls, and fountains.

"This place is beautiful." Katara grinned from ear to ear

"You can say that again" Iris chuckled

* * *

As the day faded into night, they were brought to the plaza near the main citadel. A huge fountain dominated the rear of the plaza. On either side, huge pews made out of ice provided seating for many onlookers.

They were offered to sit near the closest side of the plaza along with the Northern Water Tribe royalty. In front of them was the dignitaries table. It was a fucking throne room or something like that.

As they sat there, on the huge table, a couple of attendants lowered some sort of huge steaming platter of food or something onto a stage in front of them.

"Thank you." Iris smiled at them.

The attendant just nodded with a smile, "Anything specific for your..." he was looking at Neva, sitting on the table. Iris followed his gaze, then looked back at him.

"Oh, no." Iris quickly said, "She can have from mine. thank you for the offer"

The attendant again nodded with a small bow and left.

Iris shared a quick look with Neva then sat straighter when the drums stopped beating. Chief Arnook, head of the tribe stood up to address the crowd,

"Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sisters from the Southern Tribe, and they have brought with them someone very special, someone whom many of us believed disappeared from the world until now." he indicated towards Aang, "The Avatar!"

The crowd cheered.

Chief Arnook waited until it quieted before continuing, "We also celebrate my daughter's 16th birthday." He backed up out of the frame to reveal a beautiful girl with white hair, flanked by two attendants, walking up to the table. They all bowed, smiling.

"Princess Yue is now of marrying age." Arnook declared

"Thank you, father. May the great Ocean and Moon Spirits watch over us during these troubled times." Princess Yue addressed

Arnook smiled quite proudly at his daughter, before looking back at the crowd,

"Now, Master Pakku and his students will perform!"

The Chief motioned towards three men who now stood on the dais in front of the fountain opposite the dignitaries' table. The centerman was clearly Master Pakku with his bald head, long white hair on the sides of his head and down his back.

They began waterbending from three enormous amphorae in front of them. The crowd began to cheer. Iris eyes the entire performance in awe, applauding wherever needed. She had never seen such waterbending, ever. To be honest, she hadn't seen much bending whatsoever.

She looked to her left where both Aang and Katara wore looks of utter delight while they clapped. Further down, next to Katara, sat Sokka, stuffing his mouth. She sighed. That boy needed to learn some manners. She was about to look back at the show when she noticed Princess Yue approach the empty slot, one next to Sokka and settle down.

While Sokka was struggling to make small talk with the Princess, Iris mentally frowned. She had caught Yue staring at her many times ever since their arrival. Every time she'd look at her, Yue would look away. She had no idea why the Princess was interested in her. her identity was very much a secret, which only confused her more. Deciding to not think of it, she looked back at the show.

Suddenly Katara leaned a little towards Aang and her

"Very smooth."

Iris looked back at Sokka, wearing a slight pink blush while talking(read-almost stuttering) to Yue.

She chuckled to herself and went back to enjoying the amazing food and show.

Once the fancy welcoming party ended and all the crowd was sent back home, the group stayed back to discuss Aang's waterbending lesson plans. Master Pakku stayed as well along with Arnook.

"Master Pakku, meet your newest student, the Avatar." Arnook politely said

Aang bowed to Pakku.

Iris frowned a little when Pakku haughtily snorted. Excuse her? Wasn't teaching the Avatar supposed to be an honor or something? Well, do correct her if she's wrong but...

"Just because you're destined to save the world, don't expect any special treatment," Pakku said

Iris tilted her head. It was kinda fair but it came more from his ego, far as she can see. And growing up in the environment she had, she had seen enough to know what an inflated ego looked like.

Aang, that sweet summer child, Merlin, and Spirits bless his soul, ignored the jab, and conjured a soft anticipating smile.

"My friend and I can't wait to start training with you – after we relax for a couple of days."

"If you want to relax, then I suggest visiting a tropical island. If not, I'll see you both at sunrise. Good night."

"Master Pakku," Iris quickly said. She couldn't help it. Sure they needed a favor from the Northern Tribe, which didn't mean she'll let them act like assholes to them. Technically, Aang would do them a bigger favor by saving the world so they don't have to live in icy solitude, right?

Pakku almost sneered at her. And strangely it reminded her of Snape whenever she'd tried to talk back to be smart about something. Well, that was a first. Someone, not Fire Nation, giving her death eater vibes.

"I understand that you must not expect your students lacking in any way whatsoever, even if it is the Avatar. But we have traveled for months all the freaking way from the South Pole. I hardly believe you'd have any idea the troubles we've gone through to get here. Including Fire Nation multiple times. All he asked was for a couple of days to relax, straighten out our limbs so they won't be too dead on their feet to learn waterbending. Is that too much to ask?" she tilted her head

Pakku actually gritted his teeth. It was so fucking similar to Snape, especially if you managed to prove him wrong. She was pretty sure Pakku was so close to deduct house points and throw her petty arse into detention, but sadly for him, no such thing existed around her.

"Iris is right, Master Pakku," Arnook said, "They have traveled a long way. They deserve a little time for themselves."

Now he couldn't say no, could he?

Pakku looked at Aang then back at her, glaring holes into her head, then back at Aang.

"I'll see you at sunrise in two days. I hope it would enough for you and your friends to _'stretch your limbs'_ "

Pakku might have said that while looking at Aang, but Iris was so damn sure that all that venom he spat, was directed towards her. After all, how could she, a regular Southern Tribe girl, question his order, right? Too bad, she didn't care.

with that, he walked away. Iris mentally snorted then looked at Arnook.

"No offense, Chief, but does he have some problem we should be aware of?" she asked, quite curiously. She hoped he didn't have the same fucking stupid arc Snape had. The whole, 'I was in love and obsessed with a girl but she married the love of her life so I hate everyone and everything' arc.

Arnook just shrugged. Then he had his attendants show them the house they'd be staying in.

Iris and Katara got room to share and so did the boys, both connected by a single sliding door. As soon as Iris saw the bed, she fell on it, face first.

"I'm literally dead on my feet. Like 'dead' dead." she groaned, her voice muffled by the bedding.

Katara giggled.

Iris groaned then turned to her back,

"Is there a shower or something with hot water? Please tell me there is one. I desperately need one."

"Let me see," Katara got up and went to check their accommodation.

She reappeared next to her two or so minutes later.

"There is one over here."

"Great," she sat up and stretched her entire body, a few pops coming from here and there.

"Would you mind?" she asked standing up

"You need it way more than me." Katara smiled, sitting on her bed

"So true." she muttered

"Must be the old age, right?"

Iris turned and chucked a pillow at Katara, who caught it while laughing.

"You do realize I'm not that old, right?" Iris pouted almost childishly

"You are 19."

"a teenager."

"No. You are an adult." Katara giggled when Iris pouted more.

"You are highly mistaken, young lady. By law, I'm an adult, yes. But under no circumstance would I classify myself as an adult until..." she paused

"Until what?" Katara smirked, raising a brow

Iris narrowed her eyes, "Until I popped out my first baby. And boy, that is not happening in the near future"

Katara just laughed. Iris snorted, with mock haughtiness, turned and entered the bathroom. Once alone, she chuckled to herself with a fond smile and checked the bathroom. It was decent. She started the water and Merlin, was it hot. a pleasant hot.

she stripped down and entered the shower, letting the hot water work out all the knots in her body. it had been too long since she had bathed in a hot relaxing shower.

She washed her hair properly with what she guessed was shampoo. It smelled nice. Like the ocean breeze.

She had no idea how long she was in the shower, but it was pretty long. Once done, quite reluctantly at that, she towel-dried herself and walked out, towel around her body. She should have taken clothes with her to the bathroom. When she stepped out, she found Katara on the bed, snoring softly.

She walked to her duffel and pulled out her undergarments, a dark greyish blue oversized sweater (It used to be Ron's jumper, she borrowed it one day and never bothered to return it), her leggings, and her parka. After months, it felt nice not wearing jeans for once. She took out all the clothes that needed to be washed thoroughly, without magic. Once done, she tucked Katara properly under a comforter. She looked at Neva, sleeping peacefully in a curled ball. Satisfied, she pulled on her sneakers and decided to check out the city a little. Especially the nightlife.

First, she checked up on the boys. All were thoroughly asleep. Including Momo.

She nodded to herself and then walked into the city.

there weren't a lot of people, but the night crowd was decent. She did receive a lot of looks due to her clothes. But she could care less. Strolling around she reached the outskirts of the tribe. The waves were gently crashing against the icy shore.

The crescent moon was shining, enveloping everything in a beautiful white glow. And it reflected beautifully against all the ice. Everything around was almost serene, so peaceful. it was weirdly relaxing and comforting.

She took a couple of deep breaths, before resuming her walk along the shore. She pulled out her right hand from her park's pocket and produced a Lumos ball and began tossing it in the air and catching it. the little ball of light was able to produce some heat and warmth, something that was welcome considering the temperatures.

she exhaled. The Northern Tribe had been able to hold against the Fire Nation for so long, she was pretty optimistic that they'd be fine here. At least for a bunch of weeks. But once Aang and Katara, or even one of them, learned proper waterbending, she'd like them to leave. Aang would still have two more elements to learn and something told her that finding masters in those two elements was not going to be as easy as the waterbending master. Not that this whole journey was any easy.

The three weren't being very concerned, but she knew they were to race against the clock. The Sozin's Comet was their deadline. the summer was their deadline. And Merlin and Spirits forbid if Ozai found out about her. Then Sozin's comet would not be their topmost priority.

the particular thread of thought made her think of the chubby man who accompanied Zuko. She didn't know of their relation, but he seemed almost...grandfathely if she had to guess. Which also puzzled her. If that guy was a royal, was he banished too? and if he was Ozai's father, wouldn't being out here, hunting for the Avatar with Zuko more dangerous?

She stopped, catching the Lumos ball and squeezing that, she exhaled.

another wave hit the shore and she looked down at the ocean

"Wish I could find some solid answers," she whispered.

then she heard it. sound of footsteps and chatter. She quickly hid the Lumos ball in her pocket and turned towards the source, she realized she had walked all the way to the citadel. And a group of men had just exited the said citadel. She tried to see better and vaguely recognized Pakku and Arnook. So maybe I had something to do with the Avatar's training.

The group stayed for a couple more minutes after which they dispersed. Rose took a deep loud breath, turned around, and walked back to her accommodation.

* * *

Iris woke up around 11 AM, the next day, which surprised her. To her a little surprise, she had missed breakfast. When asked why no one woke her up, Sokka simply answered that she deserved the sleep. Even neva had let her sleep. That day they were shown around the town, followed by lunch, a little rest, and local entertainment followed by dinner.

After dinner, once everyone retired to their beds, iris once again left for a walk. Somehow these walks let her accumulate her thoughts and made things clear. Somehow, strolling through the capital, she ended up in the plaza. With a sigh, she settled on the stairs. In front of her was the vast ocean, glistening under the waning moon. the sky was filled with beautiful twinkling stars.

"Trouble sleeping?"

Iris looked over her shoulder. It was Yue

"Not exactly. Princess Yue." Iris smiled, standing up,

Yue nodded back with a smile

"May I?"

"Sure." Iris smiled invitingly and settled back on the stairs, Yue next to her.

"What's keeping you so late?" Iris asked

Yue shrugged, "It's an old habit"

"Old habits do die hard." Iris nodded

Yue hummed.

"Do you like our tribe?" she asked

"so far, yes" Iris chuckled, "It's so very different from our home. Considering so much was ravaged when the Fire Nation destroyed the village."

Yue gave her a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry that happened"

Iris chuckled, "there's nothing you could have done, Princess. Even I couldn't have done anything."

"Is there any way we can help now?"

"I don't know. We are already endangering you all."

"You are not. The Northern Tribe has always held down against the Fire Nation"

"That's good to know," Iris muttered, looking back at the moon

"Is that all that's worrying you?"

Iris looked at Yue, "No. But honestly, I don't think a princess like you should be concerned for someone like me."

Yue looked at her in an expression Iris couldn't read. And it slightly made her uncomfortable, that gaze.

Iris cleared her throat, "I should get going. It's quite late"

Yue nodded as iris stood up

"Good night princess." She took a step to move, but stopped and looked back at Yue.

With a nervous embarrassed smile, she rubbed the back of her head, "Could you point me towards our accommodations? I think I'm a little lost"

* * *

On their third day, Iris again slept in and missed breakfast. Katara and Aang had already left for their waterbending training and Sokka had joined in for warrior training, leaving her all alone to her devices. She was about to head to the town to see if she can find some snacks when Katara stomped into the room, looking quite pissed.

"Who killed your puppy?" Iris asked, pulling her sport shoes.

Katara frowned at her, "Pakku won't teach me waterbending"

Iris started tying the shoelace, "why?"

"Because I'm a girl"

That caught Iris' attention. "What has your gender got to do with learning waterbending?"

Katara turned and faced her, "Well, according to the customs here," she rolled her eyes, "girls aren't taught how to fight. they are taught how to heal with waterbending. Isn't that just a load of crap? I mean I did not travel all the way from the south so that fucking stupid man can tell me no"

"Language, Kat." Iris muttered with a frown, "don't start swearing." she ran a hand over her face, "Sometimes I think I'm a bad influence on you lot." she muttered

Katara huffed.

"If you want to learn how to fight, then prove Pakku wrong. Prove it to him that girls can fight. Besides," she shrugged, "healing isn't that bad of an ability to learn."

"How do I prove him wrong?"

Iris smiled, "I'm not going to tell you everything. Think on your own. Just, try not to cross the line with him." she stood up, "Maybe you should get some of those healing lessons. I'm off to get something to eat."

* * *

That night, they finished dinner early. Following that, Yue asked Iris if wanted to accompany her for a walk, to which Iris agreed more out of politeness than a need for company. They started talking regular things before Yue asked a weird question

"How are you related to Katara and Sokka?"

Iris blinked in surprise, "Where did this come from?"

Yue shrugged a little, "You seem quite close to all of them."

Iris smiled, a little fondly, "I'm not related to any of them."

"Oh." there was a pregnant pause, "they all do seem to look up to you"

Iris shrugged. "All three of them have gone through some tough shit in their lives. If I can do something to make the pain lessen for them," she shrugged again

"that's a lot for someone you barely know"

Iris tilted her head, "It's also a lot to welcome a stranger into your lives and village and treat them as one of your own." she wrapped her arms around her waist.

They walked in silence for a few minutes

"what made you ask about it?"

Yue was silent for quite a few minutes and iris didn't press her.

"How old are you?"

Iris frowned at the sudden turn of the question, "19"

Yue looked at her and down her neck, which was pretty much covered due to the jumper.

"Is something on my neck?" Iris frowned a little and pulled the jumper's collar to see. Merlin, she really hoped there wasn't any stain or anything.

As Iris pulled her top's collar, Yue managed to get a better look. Her neck was bare except for a thin silver chain.

"You are not betrothed"

That caused Iris to pause. She released the jumper's collar and looked at Yue. Her hand absentmindedly reaching to her neck.

"No. I'm not"

"That's...strange. Girls in water tribes are usually betrothed by the age of 16."

She was aware of it. Not that she was in any rush to get engaged or something, but,

"There's a shortage of available boys down in the South, I'm afraid" Iris softly smiled.

Yue giggled. "So what if a boy asks you here?"

Iris shrugged with a small grin, "He'd have to face rejection."

"don't you think you are gonna outgrow the age?"

Iris shrugged, "Nah. I'm not gonna marry someone just because I have to or because society wants me to. And not to some guy I've never met before or anything. If I'm gonna marry a guy, it would be on my terms. When I'd feel ready for it. To the boy I choose." she snapped her fingers together before looking at Yue, "So as the princess of this tribe, anyone you'd suggest?"

"I haven't met a lot of boys, I'm afraid"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"But is there someone you like?"

A warm blush coated Yue's cheeks

"Wait. Seriously?" Iris grinned as Yue's blush deepened, "You have a crush?"

"I suppose," Yue awkwardly cleared her throat, before looking at her with a pointed expression, "Please don't tell anyone."

"You have my word, princess. But is there a reason for keeping this secret? I mean, I'm pretty sure your father would easily arrange your betrothal to this guy you like. Why do you want this to be a secret?"

Yue sighed, pressed her lips, and then looked at her.

Iris raised a brow when Yue spoke nothing but Iris's eyes widened when she stretched her parka's collar to reveal a betrothal necklace.

"Merlin and Morgana!" Iris muttered, clearing her throat, "that's...well, that'd be complicated." she looked at Yue, "I am reading it right, right? the guy you have a crush on is not the one you are betrothed to? And the guy you are betrothed to is not someone you like? Right?"

Yue nodded sadly,

"My betrothal has more political benefits"

Iris crossed her arms behind her head.

"Can I be honest?" she asked

"I'd appreciate that." Yue nodded

"That's seriously messed up, Yue. How can your father expect you to be happy and cherished when the guy you are supposed to marry is not even someone you like?" she shrugged, "I get the whole political benefit thing. I know couples like that. But I've also seen where it goes. usually, it doesn't end well for anyone," she looked at Yue, "I'm sorry."

"That makes two of us."

"I really want to tell you to stand up and fight for yourself, but considering your position within the tribe, I don't want to cross my line."

Yue chuckled, "That was neat"

"Why thank you."

Then Yue turned to the moon, "I should be going"

"Sure," Iris replied. Once Yue was out of her sight, she too decided to get back.

* * *

Iris made it back to their accommodations to find Aang and Katara both awake. In her and Katara's room.

"Hey. It's pretty late. What's keeping you guys off the bed?"

"We are waiting for Sokka," Aang answered

"What?" Iris asked, "Sokka isn't back yet?"

"He said he had someplace to be." Aang shrugged

"Oh," Iris settled on her bed, crossing her legs as Neva came to lie on her lap, "How was your day?

Following that, Aang told her about the water bending training and how it wasn't pleasant because Pakku had an attitude problem. Katara just sat there, arm's crossed and a pout on her face. Following that, they talked more about various things, how they found the city, etc, etc, etc.

Aang was in the middle of telling a tale from his old days when the door was almost slammed open and Sokka entered.

"Hey, Sokka." Aang greeted

"Everything alright?" Iris asked, noticing his expression

"How's warrior training going?" Katara asked

In response Sokka kicked a bag on the floor in anger, fell to his knees, and then flopped on the bag, using it as a pillow.

"That bad?" Aang asked

"Sokka?" iris placed her feet down, "Everything alright, buddy?"

"No. It's your new best friend"

Iris blinked, "My new what?"

Sokka raised his head, wearing a grumpy expression.

"Princess Yue. I don't get it. One minute she wants to go out with me and the next she's telling me to get lost!"

"Wait. Yue and you?" Iris asked

"Yeah, why?" Sokka looked at her confused

"Well, that would explain a lot of things. She just happened to grill me before tonight about some stuff and we spoke about boys, a little. I never realized that she had a crush on you"

Sokka shrugged and sat on his knees before looking at Aang and Katara,

"So how's waterbending training?"

Katara flopped onto her bed. Her parka's hood flopped over her head.

"Master Poophead won't teach her because she's a girl."

"Kid, language." Iris chided. "This morning I had to tell this to Katara. I'm not gonna repeat a third time. No more swearing or calling people bad names like poophead."

"But you do that," Aang said

"Because I'm an adult?" Iris reasoned, "Seriously, I better not hear anyone of you swear again"

The three kids shared a look, shared a quick laugh, much to Iris's (mock)annoyance before moving on.

"Why don't you just teach her, Aang?" Sokka asked

Katara raised her head with a smile, "Why didn't I think of that?" she got up, "At night, you can teach whatever moves you learned from Master Pakku. That way you have someone to practice with and I get to learn waterbending. Everyone's happy!"

"I'm not happy." Sokka pointed

"Neither am I" Iris added

"But you're never happy." Katara pouted at Sokka, before looking at Iris, "What wrong?"

"What's wrong is you learning waterbending from kid behind everyone's back. Look," she quickly spoke when Katara seemed to start retorting, "I get it. Pakku's refusal is not okay, Completely sexist, and uncalled for. But right now, we need them a lot more. Breaking their customs like that is not gonna get us any more favors. Besides, it'd be better if you could prove yourself to him rather than do this, behind all their backs."

* * *

You know what? At this point, Iris was damn sure she should stop giving vague suggestions to angsty teenagers who are annoyingly stubborn. Well, leave it to teenagers to not make head or tails of any suggestion.

Katara had marched in Pakku's class the very next morning and demanded Pakku's 'real' reasons for not teaching her. Iris had made there just in time, thanks to Neva, to see a quite heated argument between Katara and Pakku. Even Arnook and Yue had come to see the issue, standing quite close to her.

Yue looked at her for a quick second and smoothed her hands over her hair. Iris frowned. Yue's hair was perfectly kept before she realized it, wearing a flush, quickly tied her bird's nest of a morning head into a somewhat presentable updo.

"You have to give me an answer!" Katara demanded

Pakku glared at her, arms folded, "I will not disrespect myself, my teachings, and my entire culture."

"I'm sorry, but if you are not gonna teach her, the least you can do is give an answer," Aang said in a duh tone

Pakku's glare shifted to Aang

"I'm not going to justify myself to a little spoiled girl like her who doesn't understand and respect the culture of our tribe," his glare hardened, "And if you support her beliefs, you are no longer welcome as my student."

Iris's eyes widened. what the actual fuck?

"Can he do that?" she asked

"I'm afraid he can" Arnook answered with a sigh

Yue gave her a sympathetic smile.

Katara and Aang weren't better either.

"Chief Arnook" Someone greeted

Iris looked at the newcomers, who looked somewhat like the men she had seen at the citadel the other night, who then joined to witness everything. Iris looked at Yue and raised a brow.

Council, Yue mouthed.

Oh boy.

"You can't do that!" Katara snapped

Pakku just huffed.

"Chief Arnook" Katara approached the tribe chief, now looking a little apologetic. Well, that is what you get for being tactless and not thinking things through. This was the main reason Iris didn't want Aang teaching Katara. While she loved and cared for Katara, they could always find a loophole to teach her waterbending without having to break the customs.

Arnook sighed, almost tiredly, "What do you want me to do? Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?"

"Yes – please!" Katara replied

"I suspect he might change his mind if you swallow your pride and apologize to him."

Katara's face turned sour. She looked over her shoulder at Aang, then Pakku, Aang, and then at her. Iris could see the question in her eyes- What should I do?

Iris folded her arms and tilted her head. She landed in this mess. She's ought to get herself out.

She turned back, clearly unhappy.

"Fine." she all but snapped

Iris looked at Pakku, who looked incredibly smug. Should Katara manage to wipe that smug, she'd buy Katara a huge gift or something.

Katara turned and looked at Pakku

"No! No way am I apologizing to a sour old man like you!" Katara exclaimed

A sudden crack got her attention. The ice ground under Katara was cracking up. Merlin!

Katara pointed at Pakku, as the water sources around started acting violently. Looks like everyone, including herself, deeply underestimated katara.

"Uh, Katara..." Aang tried to reason

But Katara was having none of it.

"a one on one. If you're man enough to fight me!"

Near her, Yue drew in a breath of surprise as Arnook and the council stiffen. Every single way this could go wrong started flashing in Iris's head. For the first time, Katara scared her.

Katara just turned and left.

"Was she serious?" Sokka asked

Iris jumped a little startled. When had Aang and Sokka made their way to her?

"I'm sure she didn't mean that." Aang nervously tried

"Yeh, I think she did," Sokka said

Iris just took a deep breath. Things got way too messed up right now.

* * *

"Are you crazy, Katara? You're not gonna win this fight!" Sokka yelled after Katara

Katara just took off her parka and threw it at Sokka, hitting him in the face, "I know! I don't care!"

"You don't have to do this for me. I can find another teacher." Aang tried

"she isn't doing this for you, kid." Iris replied, then looked at Katara, "she's doing this for herself."

Katara gave a strong curt nod, "Exactly. Someone needs to slap some sense into that guy!"

"If you are sure about this, give it your best, Kat. your everything"

Katara just nodded, before something behind Iris caught her eyes. Iris turned around, along with the boys to see Pakku.

"So, you decided to show up?" Katara asked

But Pakku just walked past her.

"Aren't you gonna fight?" Katara demanded

Pakku didn't ever turn when answering, "Go back to the healing huts with the other women where you belong."

that actually pissed her.

"Why? too afraid that you'll have your petty butt handed to you by a little Southern Tribe girl?" Iris demanded

Pakku was mature enough to not take her bait. That fucker.

She heard the telltale sound of rushing water and the next thing she knew, Katara water whipped Pakku on the back of his neck. Oh fuck. She looked down a Katara and she looked insanely angry. She shared a quick look with Aang and Sokka. Shit was gonna hit the fan now.

Pakku turned, glaring holes at Katara, "Fine. You want to learn to fight so bad, study closely!"

* * *

And then it began. Water whips were thrown, ice shards were shot. favorites were cheered for.

No matter what Pakku threw at Katara, quite literally, that angry determined look on her face never disappeared. Katara was holding down the fort quite well, considering she was facing a master waterbender.

A very angry and determined Katara was bearing down on him. Pakku raised a sheet of ice between him and the raging girl. Katara liquefied the ice as she reached it and threw several blows at Pakku, one of which narrowly missed his face, before he washed her out of his way and into one of the pools with a wave of water.

And then Iris realized. Katara wasn't going to slap some sense into Pakku. She was out for his blood.

At one point, Iris could have sworn she saw an impressed look on Pakku's face, which disappeared in the next second.

After what seemed like quite some time, Katara paused, panting heavily, her hair disheveled, fists still clenched. She quickly jumped in a bending stance. She made a motion and the segmented pillars of ice behind Pakku collapsed, narrowly missing him.

"Well, I'm impressed. You are an excellent waterbender." Pakku said

"But you still won't teach me, will you?"

"No."

With a cry of effort, Katara raised water near her feet, froze it, and sent it in a rolling wave along the floor to Pakku, who is raised up on a pillar of ice when the wave reaches him. And it continued.

She knew the fight had ended when Pakku trapped Katara in huge ice shards. And she knew Katara lost.

Though the young girl struggled to get out.

Pakku walked towards her, "This fight is over." and he turned and walked away

"Come back here! I'm not finished yet!" Katara yelled

Pakku paused and looked over his shoulder, "Yes, you are."

Iris sighed and started making her way towards Katara

"Sorry Kat," she whispered, almost ready to break her free when they both heard something.

"This is my necklace!"

Iris turned around to find Pakku holding Katara's necklace. It must have fallen during the duel.

"No, it's not, it's mine! Give it back!" Katara demanded

"I made this sixty years ago – for the love of my life."

Oh no no no no no

Katara's ice prison liquefied behind them, freeing her.

"For Kana."

Not Gran-Gran!

Now free, Katara shared a confused look with Iris, "My Gran-Gran was supposed to marry you?"

Pakku turned to face Katara, still holding the necklace and a sad expression, "I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I thought we would have a long, happy life together. I loved her."

Katara took a step forward, "But she didn't love you, did she? It was an arranged marriage." she took a few more steps, "Gran-Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she left. It must have taken a lot of courage."

She vaguely noticed Yue leaving and Sokka going after her.

Iris inhaled sharply. She had no idea what to think or feel right now. Katara was probably gonna get her lessons while Sokka was most probably gonna get his heartbroken.

* * *

Iris couldn't sleep that night. She had this weird feeling going in her gut that made her highly uncomfortable. When Sokka had returned, he didn't look happy one bit. And she knew Yue told him. While at one point she was happy for Katara she also felt for Sokka.

She exhaled, got up, and pushed back her hair from her face, and checked the bed next to her. Katara was deeply in sleep, laying haphazardly in her bed. she heard a soft click and looked right next to her, where Neva just turned in sleep, closing her beak softly.

She got off the bed and walked, sliding the door which separated the girl's room from the boys a little.

Aang was snoring. Sokka, on the other hand, was laying, staring at the ceiling, his arms folded under his head.

"Wanna talk?" she asked softly

Sokka raised his head, looked at her standing in the doorway, and flopped his head back, "What's there to talk?"

Iris walked in, "You tell me" she sat down near his feet, quickly casting a privacy charm so others won't wake up.

Sokka sat up, folding his legs, "I like Yue. She is the first girl I've liked that way. And I thought she liked me too." he sighed, "but today I find out that she's betrothed to someone else. It sucks"

"It does suck." Iris nodded, "I'm sorry"

Sokka shrugged, "there's nothing we can do about it, can we?"

"Unless we can break that betrothal."

Sokka looked at her, wondering if she was joking or actually being serious. The moment he saw the ghost of a smirk, he chuckled.

Iris shrugged and kept a hand on Sokka's giving it an assuring squeeze, "Maybe it was a good thing"

Sokka looked at her, surprised, expressions doing a 180 in a second

"what?"

Iris turned to completely face him, "there's an old saying back in my world. I don't know if it exists around here. It said- whatever happens, happens for good. You never know. Maybe this whole situation did have a silver lining somewhere."

"And what would be that?" Sokka asked

Iris shrugged, "Guess we'll have to wait to find out."

Sokka gave her a long look, "Got experience or something?"

Iris shrugged with a smirk, "Not since I broke up with my last boyfriend, no"

That got a soft laugh from Sokka.

"I know at this point, this may seem like a piece of hollow advice, but trust me when I say there is someone made for you, waiting for you. And she'd be perfect for you."

"How long before I find her?"

Iris shrugged, "Patience is the best tool when it comes to matters of heart, Sokka. Who knows, maybe you even met her" she inhaled a deep breath, "Get some sleep, buddy. You've got early morning training to get to"

Sokka nodded and went to lie down and she got up leaving to her own room

"Hey, Thanks Iris"

Iris smiled at him over her shoulder

"Anytime"

With that, she closed the door behind her and looked ahead. the two others were still asleep. But she still wasn't feeling sleepy. So she did the next best thing, grabbed her parks, pulled her shoes, and decided to go on a stroll.

That night, the nightlife of the city was sparsely bustling. She hadn't been to that particular part of the city before. A few places were open. places she realized were bars/liquor stores or similar places. She even vaguely thought of heading to one and grabbing a couple of drinks but went didn't. While she was technically legal age to drink, she had no idea what customs existed up here regarding women drinking.

Though she would really appreciate a drink. The cold up here was immense. The type of chill you could feel all the way in your bones. It was quite different from the cold in Scotland and Britain and even back then, she'd sneak in a drink or two to keep herself warm.

Her hand fiddled with the pendant on her neck. Since the day she got it from Aunt Wu, she had not taken it off. Somewhere she liked to think that her advancement in energybending had something to do with that pendant.

Her feet had carried her all the way to the shore of the city, again. The rushing waves of the ocean made her feel a little...not alone. The moon was shining up in the sky, placing a gorgeous ethereal shine on everything.

Iris sighed and conjured a small Lumos ball and rhythmically squeezing it.

Talking of Sokka's love life, made her think of her own. Did she have someone made just for her? waiting for her?

.

.

Nah. She was too much of a fuck up. And her 'soulmate' would have to deal with her crappy self. Nah, she was better alone.

A sudden movement caught her eye. she grabbed that ball, pocketing her hand inside her parka's pocket. A group was coming out of the citadel, discussing among themselves. they were all men and she vaguely recognized Arnook and Pakku. That'd make others the council members.

If she had to guess, This time it must have had to do something with Pakku's decision to teach Katara waterbending. Speaking of which, he was breaking a custom. As far as she knew, Katara was going to be the first girl to be taught how to use waterbending in a fight in the Northern Tribe.

She thought of approaching Arnook and asking what was going on. But it was almost midnight and that didn't seem very polite.

She turned and decided to return to the rooms. She better sleep if she didn't want to miss breakfast. Again.

* * *

Let's just say Katara seemed hella happy when she returned from her training the next day with Aang. Kid was happier to have a familiar person training with him.

And she slept in again, again missing breakfast.

Iris was the only one who technically had not a lot to do while they stayed there. Aang and Katra would spend their majority of time learning and practicing water bending. Sokka was busy with his warrior training.

She did spend most of her time either buried in the books or in the spirit world, learning Phoenix Claw and more techniques from Duova. If others noticed the bruises she'd end up with by the end of the day, they didn't say anything. Katara took it to herself to heal all those injuries, completely ignoring Iris's protests that she could heal herself. Katara always used the excuse that she was practicing her healing skills.

And it was moments like those that reminded Iris of Hermione. Katara was so similar to Hermione in so many ways. And she was pretty sure if these two girls met each other, they'd be best of friends very very quickly.

That thought opened a whole another can of worms. She pretty much remained zoned out during their dinner and then left for her usual walk around the place.

Should she contact them? Neva should be able to travel back to her home dimension but...

Was she ready to face them after a year and a half of no contact after she left the Wizarding World with no more than a letter?

Her feet carried her to the citadel where she sat down on the stairs.

Maybe she could start by contacting Andromeda and Teddy. She wondered how he would have grown up. Did he have more Tonks or Remus in him?  
she could also contact Sharptooth and look for ways to head back home once this war ends.

"Beautiful night."

Iris jumped when she heard someone behind her. She looked over her shoulder. It was Yue. she didn't reply, just looked ahead

"I'd understand if you wouldn't want me here." Yue apologetically said.

"Then why did you come?" Iris asked, without looking at her

"I thought you'd understand my situation." Yue neared her, "I'm sorry for breaking Sokka's heart. I shouldn't have led him on."

Iris took a deep breath, "No. you shouldn't have." she exhaled, "You know, Sokka's...like a little brother I never had." she looked at her ring, "I want to be mad at you. But I know that's unreasonable. You and Sokka are both kids and the attraction is normal. You are stuck in a betrothal you want no part of. Sokka, he likes you. This situation is so messed, up." she ran her hand through her hair, down her face, "I wish things were less complicated"

"That makes two of us," Yue added

Iris looked over her shoulder at the princess and patted the spot next to her. Yue contemplated for a moment before she sat down. To be honest, Iris hadn't spent much time with Yue since the incident involving Sokka. She had been busy trying not to get stabbed fatally by her mentor in the spirit world and keeping Sokka's spirits high following his first heartbreak.

"Apologies for startling you, before." Yue apologetically said

"Not your fault. I was..." she exhaled and looked at the ring on her finger, fiddling it, "I was miles away"

"Do you want to talk about it? You look a little stressed."

Iris exhaled, sparing her a quick comforting smile, "I'm good. Thank you for the offer." she felt Yue's gaze linger on her, "It has nothing to do with Sokka or you. Just...stuff" she exhaled.

"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" Iris asked after some time.

"Tonight's full moon. I like to stay up late on such nights."

"Really? What's so special about the full moon?"

Yue looked at the full moon, "I just have always had this connection with the moon. It makes me feel safe...protected...alive"

"That sounds really...magical" Iris looked at Yue, "Do you believe in magic?"

"A little." Yue chuckled, "Though my father doesn't really appreciate that belief."

Iris shrugged, looking ahead, "Some parents can be like that."

"Have you ever felt so?"

"What?" iris frowned a little

"Does the moon make you feel safe?"

Iris looked at the moon, "Not really, no."

"What do you feel when you look at the moon?"

Iris inhaled, "Uh...nothing?" she looked at Yue, "am I supposed to feel something?"

Yue looked at her for a solid 10 seconds before looked down in disappointment(?)

"Is everything alright?" Iris asked

Yue pressed her lips, "I just thought you were like me."

"Excuse me?" Iris raised a brow

"You have white hair." Yue looked back at her, "You are the only other person I have met who has naturally white hair."

Iris blinked in confusion, hand reaching for her loose white hair off-mindedly.

"I'm sorry, but you got me confused a little. Why does having the same hair color make us similar?"

Yue looked at her in contemplation, as if studying whether she should be let in whatever secret she was holding.

Finally, she sighed a little.

"When I was born, I was terribly ill due to some mysterious illness. My parents feared that I may die. No healer in our land was able to heal me. So my parents prayed to the ocean and moon spirit to spare my life and placed me in our tribe's spirit oasis. The Moon Spirit heard my parent's prayers and blessed me part of its life force so I could live. this turned my hair white."

"I see," Iris muttered, running a hand through her loose hair.

She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid my white hair story is nowhere as magical or inspiring as yours"

"what is it?" Yue asked

Iris sighed, rocking a little on her toes, twiddling her fingers.

"A couple of years back, a few people were after me. They wanted me dead no matter the cost. Due to some reason. and my original look was quite...unique if I say so myself. I was scared that anyone could recognize no matter where I go.

"I was suggested to go see this man, who was good at what he did. So I visited him. When he asked, I told him not to change a lot about me, but enough for no one to recognize me at first glance. The next thing I know, I walked out with white hair. Well, it wasn't as white as it is right now but pretty close."

"Is it permanent?" Yue asked

"I've been told it is." Iris shrugged, then looked back at Yue, "I'm sorry it wasn't the answer you were looking for"

"It's alright" Yue smiled, "though it does feel good to meet someone on the same boat as me when it comes to appearance"

Iris just hummed in return and looked up at the shining moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, onto the bigger topic. My college has decided to hold semester finals, despite the pandemic, so I'm gonna be so busy for about another 1.5 months. You guys have been so nice to be with me for so long, please bear with me the next 1.5 months as well.
> 
> I trust you guys to make some heads and tails from this chapter and not review your questions or leave negative criticism or jabs. Those can be PMed to me, pls.
> 
> Also, I've made a digital illustration for Iris. It can be viewed on my Ao3. So, do check them out. Username-MistressofDeath.
> 
> Other than that, you know the regular drill- Favorite, Follow, and Review.
> 
> Ciao


	15. Iris Potter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a chapter! But something you should checkout

I drew this piece months ago and forgot about it until I found it again while cleaning my tablet. This is what I imagined Iris Potter as when I started writing. If anyone interested, I can make a few more illustrations once my exams are finished. 

Do lemme know what you think?


	16. The Seige of the North: I

Iris ducked, blocking the blow with her fan, using the other one to swipe at her opponent's shin. Her blow got blocked, again, but this time, Iris twisted her body and kicked the spine of her opponent, which did the expected damage and not only caused Duová to lurch forward, in clear pain, but also loosen the grip of her daggers.

Duová looked at her over her shoulder, slightly out of breath, while looking her usual serene self, while Iris was pretty sure she looked worse for wear. The next thing she knew, the pair of daggers were thrown at her and they were approaching her with incredible speed. Rather than blocking or deflecting them with her fans, she used her energybending/magic to swerve the daggers around her body and directed them back at Duová, who seamlessly caught them mid-air.

Iris blinked in surprise. What exactly had she done now?

"Incorporating Waterbending techniques while manipulating energy. Impressive." Duová smiled, walking towards her, "That's it for today"

"That was a waterbending move?" she asked, a bit surprised

"Why yes," Duová chuckled, "Looks like your friends aren't the only people learning new things in the Northern Tribe." She kept her one hand on Iris's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze before moving on.

Iris just shrugged and turned around to look at Duová, who had made her way to her usual spot under the tree. Iris followed her lead and sat down opposite to her.

"Your Phoenix Claw has improved in the past 20 days but there's still a lot of room for improvement. As far your energybending is concerned, it could also use more work."

"Of course" Iris nodded

Duová smiled and closed her eyes, which was indication that she should leave. So Iris closed her own eyes, settling in the meditating position and concentrated.

She opened her eyes, looked down the flight of stairs, at the courtyard to see various teenage boys slumping on the ground, looking tired and defeated. And Pakku speaking to Katara. She looked at Aang, who was lying on the ground, floating Momo around on an airball, a lazy smile on his face. Iris exhaled, loosening her ponytailed hair and running her hands through it. She should either cut it back to chin-length or start keeping it in braids and updos.

Two weeks before Duová had scheduled their training sessions to early morning, almost before sunrise. Which Iris had no issue with. So she had woken up with Katara and Aang and joined them during their early morning training. While the two waterbent in the courtyard, she'd take a seat on the side ways, practicing her own things in sprirt world. At the end of the session, the three would walk back together to their accommodations for a shower and then breakfast with Sokka.

"Pupil Aang!" she heard Pakku call, and paused untangling her hair.

As soon as Pakku called for him, Momo's airball dissipated and Momo fell on Aang's head.

"Merlin!" she groaned, continuing with her hair.

"Yes, Master Pakku?" Aang sat up

"Care to step into the sparring circle? I figure since you've found time to play with house pets you must have already mastered waterbending."

Iris just closed her eyes, relaxing her feet to ease the body knots, before reopening them to look at the scene unfold as Aang airbent himself up.

"I wouldn't say "mastered", but check this out!"

Aang spun around, collecting snow around him as he went. When he was done, he has made himself into a snowman. Momo pounced on him and knocked him down.

Iris looked at him in disdain, something that was mirrored by both Katara and Pakku.

"Oh kid" she muttered, standing up, wincing when she felt pain shoot through her body at several spots like needle pricks. Well, looks like Katara was gonna get another healing practice session with her, alright.

* * *

"Hold still," Katara tsked, working the ice-cold water down Iris's back where she got a major bruise thanks to Duová's dagger's hilt.

Iris just grunted because,

1\. To have cold water on your warm skin in subzero temperatures was utterly uncomfortable.  
2\. Duová's 'lessons' were getting harder and harder and as of late, she had been showing her no mercy whatsoever, leaving a lot more bruises than when they started  
3\. The bruises being in places that she could not properly see nor reach (the nape of her neck, or the tailbone area, for e.g.), made healing herself a tough job, hence why she relied on Katara, who used water to heal her. She hated disturbing Katara with this no matter how much the young girl assured her that it was fine.

"You should try asking a break from Duová," Katara suggested

Iris sighed, "I tried. Didn't work. She shot me down." she shrugged and winced again.

Katara worked silently for a few minutes before she spoke up again,

"What's going on with you?"

"Huh?"

"Your night walks. Something's on your head. Wanna talk?"

Iris bit her lip and remained silent for a few seconds before she spoke up, "I was more or less wondering if I should write back home. My home"

She felt Katara pause.

"Oh," she said and then resumed, "Are you going to?"

Iris exhaled, "I want to know how they are doing."

"Then maybe you should write. There's nothing wrong with that. Maybe you could some good news."

Iris nodded. She soon felt the water being bent away from her back and Katara quickly lowered her jumper.

"You are missing your home." Katara muttered

Iris turned to look at her, tucking a strand of loose white hair behind her ear, "I'm a little homesick, I guess"

Katara smiled at her, but it wasn't as bright as Iris knew of Katara's smiles, "Write to your home. Maybe they miss you too."

she stood up, "Take some rest. you need it" and then she walked away

"Some of them sure as hell do." Iris muttered, lying on the bed. Writing the letter wasn't the problem, the problem was sending it. She was scared should there be any complications with Neva and her solo maiden inter-dimensional travel. After losing Hedwig the way she did, she wasn't going to lose Neva too.

As if reading her thoughts, Neva jumped on the bed and snuggled to her, comforting her.

"Are you sure about this, love?" she asked

Neva trilled, quite confidently and bobbed her head up and down.

Iris took a deep breath, "alright. here goes nothing" and she started writing. She had done writing a two-page letter ( she had no idea she had so much to write) on a parchment paper, placed it an envelope she made out of another parchment sheet, sealed it with magic and with a small piece of rope tied it to Neva's leg.

"Now you know who to give these too. If at any point in time you feel like you cannot finish the journey, you come back. Alright? Your safety is much to more important to me than delivering this letter. do you understand?"

Neva nodded with a trill.

"And if you have issues from there, visit Sharptooth. He was the goblin you brought us together. He will help you."

Neva trilled again

Iris took another deep breath

"Alright." she stood up. Neva hopped on Iris' extended forearm as the two walked outside to the patio of their accommodation.

"Good luck, babygirl" she muttered

Neva rubbed her little head again her cheek

"Go!"

Neva unfolded her wings and flew off. She felt the change of energy in air before Neva disappeared with a soft glimmer and a soft pop sound.

"Merlin and spirits, please guide Neva and make it all go right." iris muttered, wrapping her arms around her lithe body.

Having enough of the cold and finally deciding to grab on that rest Katara mentioned, she decided to return inside when she noticed something fall from the sky.

"The fuck? It isn't the snowing season"

The weather on the poles was pretty similar. And she knew this season was more of an autumn than winter so it wasn't supposed to snow. But maybe things might a little different than she thought them to be.

Walking out of the patio, she walked into the open ground. She extending her hand, intending got catching some 'snow'. And when it fell on her hand, her green eyes widened

"Oh fucking hell!"

* * *

The loud gongs resonated throughout the entire Northern Tribe in alternative rhythms.

Iris didn't waste much time. She quickly pulled the parka over her jumper, pulled on her shoes and rushed out.

"Neva, can y-" she stopped. Right. she had sent Neva off. With a deep breath, she looked around and saw certain people she recognized as council members, heading for the citadel.

She literally ran all the way to the citadel, somehow managing to tie her white hair into a somewhat low ponytail. She made it in time to see the crowd, the council and Chief Arnook at the citadel's great hall. Behind him were Yue and Pakku. She looked around, finally spotting the other three with their backs on a nearby wall. She made her way to them. The three looked at her with visible relief before she too sat down, next to Katara.

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived." Arnook began, "The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence," he raised his arms up to the heavens in supplication, "I call upon the great spirits! Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!" he lowered his arms and continued his address, "I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."

"Count me in."

Iris' head whipped to her right as Sokka had exclaimed that while standing up. He had such a determined look on his face.

"Sokka!" Katara gasped

"The fuck's wrong with you?" Iris harshly whispered. She did feel proud that Sokka was taking initiative but this wasn't the time or place for being reckless. Not on a war front.

"Be warned. Many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task." Arnook added

"Sokka, I don't care whatever the fuck you are trying to prove to whomsoever, don't do it. this is stupidity." Iris added in a whispery tone, "I know you are"

"She's right Sokka" Aang nodded, "You don't have to prove anything to anyone"

Sokka looked at her, "I'm not doing this to prove anything to anyone. I'm doing this for myself." His determined look broke a little as he softly smiled, "I'm just doing what I'm trained to."

Iris stood up and neared him, "Is Yue really worth this?"

Sokka took a deep breath, his lips formed a line. Clearly, he was struggling with his answer because they both know somewhere she was right.

"I'm a warrior, Iris"

Iris took another breath. "Please don't do anything reckless"

Sokka nodded and Iris moved aside so he could make his way to the front. Sokka got in line and soon got his mark from Arnook. Iris was observing everything from her spot. she narrowed her eyes when she was Yue slightly sobbing.

And she knew it was too late.

* * *

Iris waited behind until Sokka left with the voluntary army to defend the northern tribe. Once done, she looked around, spotted Katara with Arnook and Pakku, and noted the absence of the young avatar. She walked around a bit, finally spotting him sitting on the pylons outside the citadel. She made her way to him.

He looked at her over his shoulder when he heard her footsteps but neither said nothing. she sat next tot him, hands in her park's pocket.

"The stillness before the battle is unbearable."

The two looked behind than as Arnook and Katara approached them. Katara made her way to Aang's left.

"Such a quiet dread."

"Tell us about it." Iris muttered, "Not knowing what is going to happen when and where..." she trailed off with a loud exhale

"I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people." Aang said, "I'm gonna make a difference this time."

Iris took a deep breath. It was going to be chaos soon.

* * *

They all gathered at the front of the city. It all looked so calm and quiet, if Iris didn't know better she'd have believed it to be just another regular day.

Iris kind of regretted sending neva at the wrong time. Neva would have given them an advantage of birds-eye-view and foretelling things. Deciding not to think of that, she came to stand next to Aang.

A row of Water Tribe warriors lined the top of the city wall, their faces painted for war. Across the wall, a solid line of warriors, with Aang atop Appa in the center. Iris, Katara and Sokka stand to Appa's left.

In the distance a single ship is visible.

No. By the amount of sooted snowflake, there should have been more than one ship. Before anyone could register anything, it launches a fireball which hurtled directly at the center of the city wall. It striked the water symbol in the center of wall and blew a massive hole through it. Many defenders were blown backwards into the city by the concussion, along with huge chunks of ice and debris.

But that, that was just the beginning.

* * *

The fireballs were hurled so frequently, one of the another without a break. Appa recoiled and roared as the smoke and exploding ice created havoc around him. Iris looked at aang and the two shared a look.

"Take care of each other" she whispered to the two siblings, and quickly climbed on top of Appa

"Yip! Yip!"

Appa launched off the wall towards the Fire Navy ships. Appa roared loudly, Aang holding his reins, iris behind him, all three looking determined as heck. As the three approached the Fire Navy ship, it fired a few more fireballs at them which met a big white protective shield and siipitated into nothing. Aang looked at iris, stanind on Appa's saddle and he gave her a curt nod, something which Iris returned.

"We'll take it from here, boy!"

Iris grabbed Aang, closed her eyes, and concentrated on the ship below them. And then she apparated.

The two landed at the foredeck behind some crates and crouched down. It was nice of Duová's to teach her to silently apparate. If Iris didn't know better, she'd have thought that Duová was a seer. Well, to think of it, maybe she was. She'd have to ask later.

"You good?" she asked, pulling both her fans and flaring them.

Aang, to his credit, didn't look much disoriented from his first-ever side apparition. He stayed there for a few seconds, taking deep breaths, and then nodded, bringing forth his staff,

"I'm good"

The two stand up and saw a bunch of soldiers at the deck, leading the ship.

Aang spun in air and whipped up a gale that blew off almost all of the deck crew off the ship into the ice-cold water. Now that their cover was blown, fireballs were shot at them. Iris brought front her fan, mostly defelcting the fireballs back at the shooters, resulting in many of them getting knocked off the deck, again. Once that remained were blown off by Aang.

The two shared a look, slightly panting. They heard loud almost thunderous footfalls. The two turned around to see a huge Fire Nation soldier blocking their way, however, and they are forced back up the arm. Two more soldiers walk up behind them on the opposite side of the giant, kinda trapping them in the middle. Iris looked at Aang at the corner of her eye and he gave a very minute nod. In a second, she dropped to the floor as Aang whipped up a giant whirlwind. It was enough to knock the two soldiers off the ship, but only managed to push the giant back.

"I got him," Aang said determinedly

"I got the trebuchet" Iris replied and rushed to the spot between the two trebuchets. She closed her eyes, preparing herself. She could feel other soldiers making their way up. They had to act quickly.

She whipped out both her arms, pointing at each trebuchet,

"Reducto." she airily whispered

With loud creaking noises, the two huge weapons reduced to mere components and pieces. All broken.

She turned around and her eyes widened seeing Aang missing the hammer hits, thanks to the stupid giant. And another two idiots join in, with chained hammers as weapons. Before Iris could run to the kid's aid, Aang is ensnared by two chains wrapped around him.

Iris narrowed her eyes with a frown and cast the first spell that came to her head. Which for some weird-arse reason was Spongify.

The chains softened to the confusion of all four. Except, Aang was the first to break off that confusion and producing another gale, whipped the three away. Iris, having enough nonsense already, just _Wingardium Leviosa_ 'd the bastard giant and not so gracefully dropped him in the sea.

When Aang looked at him, she just shrugged,

"He isn't worth the trouble" she replied

Aang chuckled, "I wasn't complaining."

"Get Appa. we are leaving"

Aang nodded and jumped to some height to contact his friend, while Iris once again focused. She cast a _Glacius Duo_ and a huge pillar of ice tore through the hull of the ship towards the sky. A couple more pillars of ice followed, which Iris was sure not supposed to happen.

She looked around to finally spot that the fire Navy ship was surrounded by Water tribe.

Leaving the Water tribesmen with the pleasure of escorting the firebending bitches to their prisons, Iris and Aang climbed on top of Appa, who took off high in the sky.

As the two got a full view of what was lying heading of them, Iris unconsciously felt her gripping her fans tighter than before. The horizon was full of Fire Navy ships as far as the eye could see.

"You have got to be kidding me," Aang muttered before he looked at her over his shoulder as she crouched right behind him.

Iris took a deep breath. "This is going to stretch too long"

* * *

Iris knew there would not be just one or ten of them. But she clearly wasn't expecting the amount she just witnessed. And even the two of them had no idea what to do, especially after causing more than a dozen ships to have the fate the same as the first one. Especially without consulting Arnook and the Tribe's war council, provided they had one. Iris really prayed they had one.

While things were going down, on one hand, there was also a silver lining. The day was almost switching to twilight. And soon it would be dark. Which would benefit them, since waterbenders were more powerful at night.

They waited until the Fire Navy dropped their anchors for the day.

Iris walked right behind Aang and observed the entire fleet. A certain ship caught her eye in the second line. It was bigger than the others, almost double, and looked way more of a warship than the others surrounding it.

"That one." she pointed, "Second row, middle. that is the boss."

Aang nodded, "We should head back"

"Yeah"

Aang gave Aapa's reins a jerk and the bison just turned around to head back.

* * *

The water tribe, especially the front part, was in ruins. Fire, smoke, soot, almost everywhere.

Appa landed on the plaza at the base of the citadel steps. Iris saw Yue and Katara run up to them. As soon as Appa landed, he lied down on his belly, his feet too tired to keep him up. Aang looked small and dejected. Iris kept a hand on his shoulder and tilted her head. And then the two jumped off the saddle

"I can't do it," Aang said surprising everyone. He put his hands on his head, "I can't do it."

"What happened?" Katara asked, her blue eyes, switching between Aang and iris

"They came prepared." iris sighed, running a hand through her messy and windswept hair, "It's much more than I anticipated. Probably more than your father did too" she looked at Yue

"We must have taken out a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them." Aang sighed and slumped back, leaving on Appa, "I can't fight them all."

"But, you have to! You're the Avatar!" Yue protested

"I'm just one kid." Aang tiredly replied just when Iris said, "He's just 12! Give him a fucking break!"

Yue looked at her. She was smart to realize that those were not the waters she should be entering and politely backed off.

Aang buried his head in his arms in despair as Katara sat down to comfort him. Katara looked at Iris, and the fear increased when she realized Iris, too, had no idea what to do.

* * *

"Let me tell ya, Soka, I've courted a lot of girls, but Yue is the finest – and she comes with the most perks."

Sokka paused sharpening his axe blade on a rotating wheel. His frown deepened.

"What to do you mean by perks?" he asked clearly, but even he could make the anger in his calm voice.

"I mean, Yue's nice and everything, but the points I'll get with the Chief aren't bad either."

If it was a regular case, Sokka would have yelled at Hahn. He might have even screamed obscenities at him or punched him. But if one thing Iris had taught him over the time was always cover your own butt no matter what. And Iris had also hinted, maybe Yue was not for him. This also didn't mean he'd let any asshole treat any girl with disrespect, like an object.

So he just snorted, a smirk on his face, resuming the blade sharpening. Something he knew Hahn could see.

"I guess it's a pity that someone so nice as Princess Yue is wasted on a self-absorbed weasel like you." he looked at him perispherically.

"Whoa. Hang on." Hahn exclaimed, "What do you care? You're just a simple rube from the Southern Tribe. What would you know of the political complexities of our life?" Hahn demanded, and then maybe thought better, 'cause he added, "No offense."

Cover your butt. Cover to freaking butt.

His mind raked through for an appropriate response when he thought of something. Deciding to a feather off of Iris' book, he decided to get super sassy and he hoped Hahn would be stupid enough to take the bait.

"That's true, I guess. I wouldn't know the political complexities of your life," he muttered. He could see Hahn smirk and boy was he going to enjoy wiping that fucking look off his face

"But I do know to treat girls better than objects for perks and pleasure." he looked at him and lowered his already lowered voice, "Looks like that was something your parents failed to teach you." he paused and then afterthought, added. "No offense."

Hahn was getting angrier by second, especially when Sokka was not taking his bait, but Hahn clearly took his.

"You! You ungrateful peasant! How dare you?!" Hahn demanded

Sokka was happy that he took warrior training and quickly ducked and dodged the punch Hahn threw. Once regained, he tackled Hahn and held down the struggling guy.

He lowered his voice e again, "You're just a jerk without a soul." he whispered

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he was pulled back only to come face to face with Chief Arnook.

"That's enough! What's going on here?" he demanded, looking quite angry

"Hahn attacked me." Sokka asked, "Whatever I did was self-defense. Ask anyone here"

And Arnook did. Only a few of Hahn's faithful lackeys sided with his twisted version of what happened(which placed Sokka at the blame), while the majority verified Sokka's story.

Arnook frowned at Hahn, "I clearly expected more from my future son in law. But you've let me down. Hahn, you are off the mission. Sokka," he turned to him, "now you lead the mission."

"Thank you Chief" Sokka smiled

"That's ridiculous and unfair!" Hahn cried but it all just fell to deaf ears.

Sokka just took a breath and turned to face his army. _His_ army. Iris and his dad would be so proud.

* * *

"The legends say the moon was the first waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves."

Iris wasn't paying attention. She sat with the other three at the citadel, one knee folded and tucked under her chin, arms wrapped around it. One of her hands fiddled with her necklace.

"I've always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night."

Her mind was going a thousand kilometers. She was a natural-born leader. That was what she was told for the past 8 years. She trained an army of students at 15. She led a fucking rebellion at 17. She led the biggest revolution ever seen in the wizarding world. But here? here she was lost.

"Our strength comes from the Spirit of the Moon, our life comes from the Spirit of the Ocean. They work together to keep balance."

Fire Nation had destroyed the Southern village way before she appeared. She was scared of what they might do to the Northern Tribe. How many lives would be at stake? How many would actually return? How many families would be destroyed?

Sokka, the sudden thought came to her. He had gone into this dangerous mission. What if he didn't return? How would she face Gran-Gran? And Hakoda and Bato and others? She already lost Fred. She couldn't-wouldn't-lose Sokka too.

"The Spirits! Maybe I can find them and get their help!"

The grip on her necklace tightened. No, too much was on the line. She couldn't afford to be scared and anxious when she was needed the most.

"How can you do that?"

The Fire Nation was deadset on finding kid and her. She wasn't going to let them.

"The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the Spirit World. Aang can talk to them!"

Like, she won the second Wizarding War. this should be at the same level, right?

"Maybe they'll give you the wisdom to win this battle!"

But what if Ozai found her first? What if he caught someone she loved and made her do horrible things?

"Or, maybe they'll unleash a crazy amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!"

What if she pioneered into the new world made by destruction? What if that was what Aunt Wu's prediction actually pointed to?

"Or wisdom. That's good too."

"The only problem is, last time you got to the Spirit World by accident. How are you going to get there this time?"

What if the savior of one world ended up becoming the destroyer of the other?

"IRIS!"

Iris jumped so hard, she literally slipped on the ice and landed on her back.

"Ouch! fucking hell!" she winced and looked at the three, while still lying on the ice.

"Where's the fire?" she asked, "and honestly, keep this keep, I'm gonna have a serious injury. Or a heart attack!"

Aang sheepishly rubbed the back of his head while the girls got up and rubbed the back of her head and raised a brow.

"You didn't hear anything?"

Iris shrugged, "I was too deep into my head. How 'bout you bring me to speed?"

Yue looked at her confused, and so did Aang.

"Tell me what I missed," Iris added and Katara began

"Spirit world," Iris hummed, "We can try knocking on that door too. What would you know? maybe they'll release some big-arse monster spirit and we'd never have to deal with Zhao and stupid fleet again." she shrugged again only to find three stares directed at her.

"What?"

"I said the same thing!" Aang exclaimed, a huge grin on his face

"That's amazing, kid" she deadpanned, "Now what's the plan? Spirit World, how are we gonna progress?"

"I hoped you could come with me," Aang said

"What happened?" Iris asked, narrowing her eyes

"I'm the avatar, but you have a way with words. Maybe you'll have a bit of better luck convincing the spirits than me"

"I don't know kid. My presence might piss some of them off."

"It's worth a try, right?" Katara asked

Iris took a deep breath, "Okay. where do we do it? I'd rather we not do anything out in the open"

"I have an idea, follow me." Yue stood up

Iris looked at the other two benders, who shrugged in return. She too got up and followed the princess. Yue led them through the courtyard behind the citadel, stopping in front of a half-height wooden door.

"So is this the way to the Spirit World?" Aang asked

Yue laughed, "No, you'll have to get there on your own." she opened the door, "But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole."

"That's some good news," Iris muttered as Aang entered with Momo jumping into Iris' arms. Iris followed him, followed by the other two.

Iris had to blink a couple of times. It was gorgeous. Inside was a long beautiful pool. At the back of the chamber was a waterfall coming from the glacier way above. On the sides of the pool were two ledges by which, she guessed, the back chamber could be accessed. The landing was filled with green foliage, another smaller pool that looked almost tropical in nature, and a small t shaped gate-like structure very much like those Chinese or Japanese gates she had studied about in runes. The landing was connected to the ledges on the side of the chamber by two wooden footbridges.

Above all, the place was flowing with a very healthy flow of spirit energy and it almost made her giddy.

Suddenly Aang ran off over the left bridge and landed on the soft grass, rubbing it fondly

"I never thought I'd miss grass this much!"

He flopped over on his back as the girls walked into the landing.

"It's so warm here! How is that possible?" Katara asked in awe, taking off her parka.

"It's the center of all spiritual energy in our land," Yue replied

"Figures" Iris grinned, eyes closed as she inhaled the sweet calming scent of the place. "Is there any way your father can arrange some accommodations here for us?"

"I'm afraid that won't be an option" Yue replied with an amused smiled

Iris went to look around. Neva would have loved this place. It was so different from the Air Temple Sanctuary and the Roku's Temple's sanctuary. the soothing energy was almost alluring. Like a pacifying lullaby.

"You're right, Yue. I can feel...something...it's so...tranquil." She heard Aang say, which made her smile.

"Iris?"

She turned and looked at him, sitting cross-legged in front of the pond.

She nodded and, removing her parka, settled next to him, in a similar position. They both closed their eyes, put their knuckles together, and soothed their breathing. Unlike before, she first decided to settle her energy core before moving to the spirit world. It took her another 7-8 seconds before she found herself in the spirit world. But alone.

She looked around.

"Kid?"

But no response.

* * *

"Why are they sitting like that?" Yue whispered

"They're meditating – trying to cross over into the Spirit World. It takes all their concentration."

Katara felt a sudden and noticeable shift in their surrounding, something she was used to after Iris started regularly visiting the spirit world. And she knew Iris had crossed over but doubted the same for Aang since his tattoos weren't glowing.

"Is there any way we can help?" Yue asked

Before she could reply,

"How 'bout some quiet!?" Aang turned around to look at them, "C'mon guys! I can hear every word you're saying! Iris is waiting for me on the other side!"

With that, he resumed his pose. He stared in front of him for a few moments before his eyes and tattoos started glowing.

"Is he okay?" Yue asked again

"He's crossing into the Spirit World," Katara replied

"Are you sure we can't help in any way?"

"They'll be fine as long as we don't move their body. That's their way back to the physical world."

Yue pulled a little, "Maybe we should get some help?"

Katara shook her head a bit confidently, "No, they're my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting them."

"Well, aren't you a big girl now?"

Katara whipped to look at the source of the voice and her eyes widened, before narrowing,

"Zuko" she hissed, "No!" she exclaimed

Zuko was walking towards them over the bridge. What the hell was he doing here? How did he get there?

"Yes! Hand him over, and I won't have to hurt you." Zuko added

Katara frowned and assumed a water bending stance, while Yue skittered off. She was going to protect her friends.

* * *

At the front line defense, Pakku looked over as the sun rose.

* * *

"It's daybreak at last. Let's write history." Zhao grinned. "The Water Tribe can try to resist the inevitable, but their city will fall today. He was going to rewrite history. No matter the cost.

* * *

Iris was now getting worried. She was really contemplating going back and seeing what was wrong when Aang appeared next to her

"where have you been?" she demanded

"I was having trouble concentrating" Aang replied, a little sheepish

"Really?" she folded her arms, "You taught me how to concentrate and get into the spirit world and you were having concentrating issues? what really happened, kid?"

Aang sighed.

"Katara and Yue were talking too loud," he looked at her, poker face in place.

Iris just took a deep breath, "Girls," she muttered with a roll of her eyes, "Let's not waste any more time, alright?"

Aang nodded before the two started their journey.

* * *

Sokka held on to his weapons, waiting for the inevitable. He was determined and ready. And then he heard his name being called.

He looked at the source and frowned, "Yue?"

Yue stopped right next to him and panted.

"Avatar Aang. Iris. Zuko. Katara's alone" she huffed, her voice wavering and concerned

It took his mind a few seconds to put the words together to make some sense and once it did, his eyes widened.

He quickly looked behind him, at his 'second in command'

"The Avatar's in danger. I have to go and I want you to lead."

The guy looked a little hesitant, but nodded with determination and stepped forward.

"We can get there faster on Appa," Sokka suggested

* * *

Katara opened her eyes suddenly and she got on her knees with a start. She had no idea how long she was out, but Zuko was going to pay. She looked in front and her eyes widened. Iris was the only one present. Aang was missing.

"Aang!"

"What happened? Where's Zuko?"

Katara looked next to her where her brother was. Looking highly concerned

"He took Aang. He took him right out from under me."

Sokka looked at Iris. He could tell she was in the spirit world. And she looked fine. So Zuko came here specifically for Aang. But weren't both of them wanted?

He looked around. Maybe the Fire Nation changed its priorities. He looked at Momo, who was looking back at them from his perch on the side of the pond

"Where did they go?" he asked

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 finished, 2 more to go. And I'll be free😁
> 
> I know I said 1.5 months, but I got pretty bored between my exams, and I only have 2 more left, so I decided to polish what I had written and post it. The next chapter would be updated around Christmas.
> 
> I trust you guys to make some heads and tails from this chapter
> 
> Other than that, you know the regular drill
> 
> Ciao


	17. The Seige of the North: II

"I can't believe I lost him," Katara muttered, guilt and fear increasing by the second

"You did everything you could and now we need to do everything we can to get him back," Sokka replied, squeezing his sister's shoulder to provide some comfort.

Katara sniffed and looked at Sokka who led Yue back to Appa, her eyes getting wetter and wetter.

"Zuko can't have gotten far. We'll find him. Aang's gonna be fine. He's with Iris." Sokka said

Katara nodded, wiping her tears as she stood up, "Okay."

"What about Iris?" Yue asked, "We can't leave her like this, can we?"

"Iris is more than capable of taking care of herself. And she'd rather we find Aang." Sokka replied as Katara climbed atop Appa. He turned to the flying lemur, vaguely wondering Neva's absence but that could wait for now.

"Momo could you stay here and keep an eye on Iris. And in case Aang comes back"

Momo chittered in response. Sokka just nodded and jerked Appa's reigns, "Yip! Yip!"

* * *

The two had been walking around some kind of bamboo swamp for about 30 minutes now. And they hadn't gotten anywhere. It just seemed like walking in circles.

"Are you sure we are on the right track, kid?" Iris asked for the fifth time

Aang nodded, "Yes. I can feel it"

"and you felt four other times too," she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes.

"There!"

Iris looked in front, tucking her fringes behind her ear. It looked like a small island with a temple-like structure atop. The structure strangely resembled the one she had seen around the citadel, but thicker and cruder.

"Is that someone sitting underneath it?" Iris narrowed her eyes a little, taking a few steps forwards

"Looks like it." Aang came to stand next to her.

The two exchanged a look and then started walking towards the shrine/temple/whatsoever it was.

It was a monkey. A 'baboon' monkey. A stupid baboon monkey. Sitting underneath the structure reciting 'om' chant. He was sitting in a meditative pose dressed pretty much a monk, she'd wager.

"Hello? I'm sorry to disturb you, but we just really need to find the Moon and the Ocean spirits." Aang said at once

The monkey didn't even open his eyes, "Go... away."

"We aren't going away." Iris crossed her arms

The monkey paused his chant and opened his one eye

"You're still here?"

Aang took a step forward, "Yes! we need –"

Monkey closed his eyes tighter and began chanting louder.

"You know, ignoring like we aren't here isn't going to help you. We aren't leaving unless you give us answers or point us towards someone who will have those answers" she took a deep breath, "We could really use some help"

Iris rolled her eyes when the chant became more louder and frequent.

And then suddenly a blue will-o'-the-wisp appeared, emitting a slight crystalline noise.

"Perhaps that thing will help you? Chase it!"

Before Iris could comprehend what the monkey said, Aang had already broken into a run to chase the will-o-wisp.

Iris grunted, fisting her palms before running after the kid. She followed Aang chasing the will-o'-wisp through the swamp. And she stopped when he abruptly climbed a tree and out onto a large branch.

Iris huffed, panting as she looked at him, "Kid?"

"I caught it!" he yelled from the top.

Iris nodded, catching her breath and a second later she heard a scream. Looking up, she saw Aang falling down.

"Merlin," she muttered and tried to spot herself and barely caught him, stumbling and almost losing her footing.

"You good?" she asked, setting him down. He was actually lighter than she had anticipated.

"I lost it," he whined, looking down at the rippling water.

"Well, you are in one piece. That is kinda my priority over here," she smiled, "Come on."

Aang exhaled loudly and was about to follow her, but stopped.

"Kid?" she asked as he kept looking at the water. he didn't reply. So she walked back to him and looked down at the water surface. The ripples created by their sudden movements dissipated and an image formed where Aang's reflection should be.

Surprise, surprise. It was Roku

"Hello, Aang." he greeted

"Roku!" Aang exclaimed

"Iris" he nodded at her. She skeptically nodded back.

"Roku, the Water Tribe is under attack. I need to find the Ocean and Moon spirits!" Aang informed him

Suddenly maroon colored water sprouted up and solidified into the shape of Roku. Freaky and cool.

"The Ocean and the Moon are ancient spirits. They crossed over from the Spirit World to the Mortal World very near the beginning. There is only one spirit I know of who is old enough to remember."

"Who?" Iris asked

"The spirit's name is Koh. But he is very dangerous. They call him... the Face Stealer."

a chill ran down Iris's spine and she felt a weird feeling in her gut.

"You can't possibly mean that in the literal sense, can you?" she asked, a little timid

"I'm afraid, I do mean it in the way you are thinking," Roku grimly looked at her, "When you speak with him you must be very careful to show no emotion at all – not the slightest expression or he will steal your face!"

Iris took a deep breath and looked at Aang, who nodded rather stoically.

"I'm not sure I'd be able to do that" she muttered. She was an emotional mess. The last time she bottled her emotions, they erupted in front of Duova.

"It's alright" Aang gave her a soft smile.

* * *

In the frozen wastes was where the blizzard raged. Appa's forepaw deep into the snow. He rumbled. Sokka looked out over the canyon created by Zuko and Aang's passage. He turned around to look at Katara, her eyes wide with concern and fear. She lowered her face, fearing the worst.

* * *

Zuko blew fire into his hands to keep warm. He looked over at Aang.

"I finally have you. And once I hand you over, I'll return for your companion. But I can't get you home because of this blizzard." he walked over to the cave entrance to look out at the falling snow, his back towards Aang, "There's always something. Not that you would understand. You're like my sister. Everything always...came easy to her. She's a firebending prodigy – and everyone adores her."

he sighed, "My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck though, I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am."

* * *

The middle half of the city where the secondary wall still held, a thin moat of water in front of it. The defenders were few, however, and a deadly rain of fireballs appeared, spreading destruction deep inside the city.

The defenders rallied atop the secondary wall, where a line of waterbenders returned fired. Right under the top of the wall was a line of portholes through which water poured into the moat below. The waterbenders motioned in unison and the gentle streams became mighty jets of water. Two tanks were washed away, but several others behind them fired massive grappling hooks into the secondary wall.

A huge breach opened, revealing a war rhinoceros and other infantry ready to pour through.

* * *

Aang was hopping, way ahead of her, across the top of a line of wooden pylons on his way to a huge gnarled tree to which Roku had pointed them towards. But Iris was in no such hurry. she already knew she couldn't face Koh, so why not let the Avatar handle it. She had gotten a hook on Aang's energy so she could find him in case he or she got lost.

She looked up at the massive tree. The tree was partially silhouetted by a light source behind it that was too dim to be the sun, but too bright to be the moon. Iris froze as a monstrous coyote or other dog-like creature passed behind the tree.

"Fucking hell" she muttered, vaguely noticing that even Aang stopped to view the creature-spirit. It was bigger than a fucking dragon!

Once the spirit walked off, Aang and Iris continued their approach to the base of the tree.

Aang stopped in front of a massive black hole at the base of the tree and looked at her. She took a deep breath and nodded. He knew the rules

_"If things go out of hand, collect your arse, and leave."_

She might be skeptical, and maybe a bit scared, of facing Koh but her fear was no bigger than her 'saving people' thing. She'd let Aang have his shot. But if that wasn't enough, then she was going to step in. He walked in and she continued walking, making the rest of her way to the tree.

* * *

"Guess we'll be here a while," Zuko muttered, sparing a glance at the glowing Avatar. He looked at him, studying him.

"You feel different," he added, "Different than the last time our paths crossed. It feels as if...as if your companion somehow boosts your power. I remember feeling her power after I rescued you both from Zhao's. She radiated energy. She makes you powerful." Zuko hummed to himself, "She'd be challenging. And I'm willing to take her."

* * *

"Don't worry! Prince Zuko can't be getting too far in this weather." Yue assured the two

"I'm not worried they'll get away in the blizzard. I'm worried that they won't." Katara replied

"They're not gonna die in this blizzard. If we know anything it's that Zuko never gives up. They'll survive – and we'll find them!" Sokka said, determined. He was going to find his best friend.

* * *

As Aang stood on the stairs, Koh wrapped his body loosely around him.

"It's been a long time since I've added a child's face to my collection." His face turned into that of an owl, "Or a beautiful maiden. Like your companion waiting outside," a sinister smile crossed his face and he leaned closer looking for any expression, "So... how may I help you?"

Aang tried not to show his surprise that Koh knew about Iris. Nope. Not gonna work.

"I need to find the Moon and the Ocean." he deadpanned in return

"Their spirit names are Tui and La. Push... and Pull... and that has been the nature of their relationship for all time."

"Please, help me find them. An entire culture could be destroyed if I don't get their help."

Koh's face flipped to that of an old man, and he looked away, "Oh, you think you need their help? Actually, it's quite the other way around."

In an instant, Koh turned and bolted to Aang, pressing his face within inches of Aang's. Koh's face changed again from the owl to a blue ogre-like face with red eyes and huge fangs.

"Someone's going to kill them!"

Aang closed his eyes briefly, then opened them to look at Koh.

"What do you mean? How can I find them and protect them?"

Koh flipped back his white face, "You've already met them, actually."

Behind Aang, Koh reared himself up, so Aang had to look up to see his face.

"Tui and La, your Moon and Ocean, have always circled each other in an eternal dance. They balance each other... push and pull... life and death... good and evil... yin... and yang."

Aang's eyes widen at the realization.

"The koi fish!" he exclaimed

Koh, hearing the emotion in Aang's voice, appeared instantly with his blue ogre face in front of the Avatar, ready to take his face. But no luck – Aang's face was once again a model of impassivity.

"I must be going now."

Koh, again, flipped to the face of a bald young man, "We'll meet again."

With that, Koh receded back into the shadows and Aang walked out.

"Everything went well, I believe"

He looked at Iris, who was looking at him expectantly outside the tree and Koh's lair.

"It's the koi fishes"

"The ones in that pond? kept circling each other?"

Aang nodded enthusiastically

"They are the moon and ocean spirits?"

Nod

"Merlin and Morgana" Iris groaned, "Really? No one could have given us that straight forward answer?! The fucks wrong with people and spirits. We could have this whole trip to see some spirit who can literally steal faces!"

"Can we go now?" Aang asked, a hint of irritation in his voice. Something Iris noticed for the first time and realized they were racing against the clock

"Yeah, right. Let's go" Before Iris could move, she noticed something behind Aang in the water and gestured him to look there. Aang turned just as Roku's figure reemerged as a water fountain

"A friend is here to guide you back."

Roku faded to the panda form of Hei-Bai, the forest spirit they dealt with during th Winter solstice.

"Hei-Bai!" Aang exclaimed

Iris rolled her eyes, "Of course it'd be the giant spirit panda. Why can't it be a regular human guide?" she muttered to herself as Hei-Bai crouched and the two of them climbed on his back. Hei-Bai then began to take them where they came from.

"You know, you could have done this without me."

Aang just smiled at her

"No, I'm serious. Look how useless I turned out to be for dealing with Koh."

"Iris," Aang smiled, "You have your strengths. And just like everyone else, you have your weaknesses. Those weaknesses don't make you useless or a liability. We didn't know we would have to deal with Koh. What if it wasn't Koh but some other spirit? Someone against whom I'd be weaker but you'd be stronger." his smile widened, "You are energybender. The last energybender. You are not useless"

Iris smiled back, "Thanks, kid. for the assurance and the insight"

Aang nodded back

* * *

Night had fallen, but the Fire Nation assault continued unabated. Fireballs now blasted the residential section in front of the citadel, which was protected by the third and final wall. The secondary wall had been fully compromised and Fire Nation troops and tanks were pouring through. Water Tribe citizens ran through the smoking streets as tanks smashed through everything in their path.

A quick shot of the tank assault was replaced by a shot of the massive full moon rising behind the Fire Navy fleet. Drawing strength from the full moon, the defenders managed an uncoordinated counterattack. A group of Fire Nation soldiers cornered a waterbender on a foot bridge over a canal, but the waterbender broke the ice bridge and sent the soldiers flying.

A waterbender, who was being chased by a tank, turned and melted the ice under the tank. It sunk as the waterbenders damaged the turret with a powerful jet of water.

A line of defenders atop the third and final wall, in unison, fired ice daggers at a line of Fire Nation soldiers below who blocked them with their shields.

Master Pakku, who squared off alone against three tanks that were closely supported by three infantry platoons. Exercising his mastery over his art, he cut the treads off all three tanks with jets of ice. As he crippled the Fire Nation armor, the infantry closed in around him. With a motion, he raised them up and encased them all in ice. Then, mustering all his might, he raised a water tornado, Pakku rode at the pinnacle of the tornado as he brushed aside both fire bolts and Fire Nation soldiers.

* * *

"We'll be following this map to a very special location. And when we get there..." a cruel sinister smile spread over his face, "...we're going fishing."

* * *

Hei-Bai stopped at the paifang they came from

"Thank you" Iris smiled at the big panda as she dismounted, Aang following her.

"This is where we came in." he jumped onto the platform underneath the paifang, "But how do we get back?"

"Meditation?" Iris shrugged, "The way we came in?"

Out of the blue, Hei-Bai reared up on his hind legs and breathed a pulse of blue, spiritual energy out of his mouth at the duo, who froze, engulfed by the energy, and disappeared.

Iris exhaled appearing back in the physical world. she took a few deep breaths to normalize herself and then opened her eyes. The Water City Sanctuary was alright. She turned to her right and almost froze. Aang was missing

"Kid?" she called, quickly standing up and frantically looking around, "Kid?! Aang?!"

Momo chittered, landing on her shoulder,

"Momo" she looked at him, "Where's Aang?"

She felt something and turned around to see a ball of blue light.

"Hei-Bai" she muttered under her breath

The light then suddenly beamed right out of the sanctuary valley before Iris could figure out any way to trace it.

"Fuck!" she cursed under her breath, again.

"Is the rest of the gang looking for Aang's body?" she asked and Momo gave a vague nod. Okay. Okay.

she had no idea where others were. She had no way of tracking them in the middle of a warzone. She was at loss with Neva's absence. Merlin! this had to be one of her worst days ever.

Deciding to check on how the tribe was doing, she turned to leave, when,

" _Stay~_ "

Iris froze. she looked around and then finally at Momo on her shoulder, "that was not you"

Momo tilted his head clueless. And they were the only two people there.

The voice was whispery feminine. So it wasn't Momo. Her eyes landed on the koi fish in the pond behind Momo. Something in her gut told her that was a spirit who spoke.

"Do you want me to stay?" she asked, eyes at the koi

No reply came. Was she hallucinating things now? It couldn't be. But what if it was the spirits asking her to stay 'cause maybe they had the intuition that some serious was going down. Oh No! Some super serious shit was going down, right?

* * *

The light beam entered the cave, briefly illuminating it from inside. Aang's tattoos stopped glowing and Aang woke up, to realize that was bound with ropes. He struggled briefly against his bonds, then sat up to face Zuko.

"Welcome back."

"Good to be back." Aang glared threateningly

With a mighty breath, he blew Zuko against the wall while simultaneously propelling himself out of the cave and into the open. He began to grunt as he moved forward, caterpillar style, along the ground. Zuko appeared and grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.

"That won't be enough to escape." Zuko narrowed his eyes, "Without your companion, you are not that strong"

Aang struggled into Zuko's hold when he saw something

"Appa!"

Appa landed and Zuko dropped Aang in the snow. Katara dismounted Appa to face him again.

"Here for a rematch?" Zuko asked resuming a fire bending stance

Katara moved her hands to waterbend, "Trust me, Zuko, it's not going to be much of a match."

She blocked a fireball just as she finished her sentence while Sokka and Yue looked on from Appa's saddle. She sent a shock wave of ice hurtling towards him. When it reached Zuko, she encased him in a pillar of ice that she raised up high, then dropped. Zuko fell to the ground unconscious. Sokka ran over and cut Aang's bonds.

"Hey! This is some quality rope!" he exclaimed

"We need to get to the oasis! The spirits are in trouble!" Aang started. He ran up to Appa and boarded him, followed by Sokka, Aang at the reigns. They were ready to go, but Aang stopped and looked over at the Prince.

"Wait, we can't just leave him here," he said

"Sure we can. Let's go." Sokka replied

"No, if we leave him, he'll die."

Aang jumped down, grabbed Zuko, and brought him back to Appa.

"Yeh, this makes a lot of sense. Let's bring the guy who's constantly trying to kill us!" Sokka exclaimed

* * *

"I was expecting the task to be a little easier"

Iris looked up from the pond and turned around.

"Zhao"

"Avatar's companion" he smirked and walked forward, "and traitor"

"I've been called worse things," she shrugged, assuming her energy bending stance, fans flared, "Take another step forward and we are gonna have some trouble"

Zhao chuckled, "You think a little girl like you can be a match for someone like me?"

"Uh...yeah. I do" she replied

"You haven't even learned the fire bending techniques that I've long since mastered."

"Don't care. I'm pretty sure I can still kick your petty arse."

Zhao snarled at her and launched his fire attacks. Iris easily dodged or deflected them. without breaking a sweat. Well, at least Duova's training was proving to be useful.

"You are a disgrace to firebenders. What kind," he threw another fireball, "of firebender doesn't use firebending," fireball, "in a fight?"

Iris crossed her arms, her fans covering her face and forearms as the fireball got blocked. She lowered them, slightly panting, but still maintaining herself between Zhao and the koi fishes.

"Someone who doesn't depend on being all the time," she replied, and deciding that enough was enough, she twirled, casting a _Ventus_. The spell turned out to be way stronger than she anticipated. But then again, they in Spirit oasis/sanctuary. She had tonnes of spirit energy to use.

"impossible" she heard Zhao whisper in disbelief, "You are not a firebender."

And she was going to end him.

She couldn't risk him telling Ozai or anyone else what just happened. Why was she stupid enough to use a Ventus?

Because she was the only one between Zhao and the mortal form of two powerful spirits. Right. She could, at the moment, care very less about her bending preferences.

But she did not reply to Zhao.

He whipped out a fire-whip which caught around her shin and he pulled causing her to lose her footing. But she quickly flipped and threw her dagger at Zhao before she fell to the ground. If the pained yelp she heard from Zhao was anything, the dagger hit the target. She got up, realizing the absence of the fire whip, and resumed her stance.

The dagger had embedded itself into Zhao's shoulder blade. She had to learn to aim better. She had aimed for his heart and hit his shoulder. she definitely needs practice.

Zhao snarled at her as he removed the dagger with a pained wince here and there and tossed it aside.

"You are going to pay for this!"

Iris just gripped her fans tighter.

* * *

"Something is not right" Aang muttered

"Uh...yeah? Fire Nation is attacking us!" Sokka responded

Aang glared at him, "Not that. I meant the Spirit Oasis. Something's wrong there"

"What do you mean?" Katara piped in

"I can't put my finger on it. But Something isn't right."

"Iris is all by herself there," Yue said as realization dawned on the other three

"Fuck!" Sokka muttered

* * *

Okay. Iris was pretty close to losing her shit and cursing the fucking shit out of Zhao. She had dropped her facade as a firebender or Airbender and was using everything in her arsenal.

She was pretty sure Zhao was so close to losing his mind over the fact that there is someone other than the Avatar who can bend more than one element.

"I didn't know there were two Avatars" he grunted as Iris trapped his body below the waist in a Glacius spell.

"Well, there's a lot you do not know" she grunted, tightening and hardening the ice. If done the way she wanted, she could, maybe, paralyze his lower body and gain an upper hand.

But then Zhao conjured two fireballs and started melting the ice. And that was when Iris twirled and let out a strong gust of wind, which should have been sufficient to give him whiplash.

He jerked back, rather his body jerked back, and he glared at her. He looked in incredible pain. Iris panted and he suddenly started a barrage of fireballs. Iris conjured up her shield and closed her eyes, grunting as she concentrated on the same. And then her shield shattered and the force tossed her a few feet away. She groaned and looked up, her eyes widening at the size of the fireball he was conjuring.

Holy fuck!

And he launched it

" _Carpe Retractum_ " she muttered, trying to crawl back as the earth in front of her extended above and blocked the fireball, also shattering in the process. Iris closed her eyes and looked away, blocking her face with her arm.

Before she could regain her composure she felt someone hold her forearm and move it from her face. She looked forward and her eyes widened.

"Pathetic" Zhao sneered

Iris grit her teeth and fisted her other hand to punch him but Zhao blacked that too. Merlin, why wasn't he bleeding to death, right now? She had fucking stabbed him!

"I am...a legend now!" he said, looking into her eyes, "The Fire Nation will for generations tell stories about the great Zhao who darkened the moon! They will call me Zhao the Conqueror! Zhao the Moon Slayer! ZHAO THE INVINCIBLE!"

For the first time in a long time, Iris felt fear. This arsehole had completely lost his marbles.

Suddenly Momo jumped onto Zhao's head and pulling at his face and sideburns, chittering.

"Huh! Get it off!" Zhao pulled back as Iris blinked to get a clear idea of what actually happened. The sound of footsteps caught her attention as she quickly stood up, holding her fans.

Appa landed and Aang's with them. One of her worries lessened. Thank Merlin and Morgana.

Momo flew off as soon as he saw Aang and the soldiers surrounded Zhao as the kids came to stand next to Iris. Aang looked at her, question in his gaze, she just nodded back in answer.

"I want all of them. Dead" Zhao ordered through his gritted teeth, "And then I'll fulfill my destiny!"

"What destiny is he talking about?" Sokka asked

"He wants to kill the Moon spirit" Iris replied, flexing her fingers to properly accommodate the fans and tightened her grip.

"He'd have to go through us, then" Aang prepared his staff. Sokka pulled out his machete and Katara unplugged her waterskin as Yue moved back to find cover.

"You think you can stop me? Me?! No one can stop me from fulfilling my destiny, let alone a bunch of kids!"

"You are being absolutely ridiculous," Iris said, "By the way, your destiny sucks arse"

"You silly girl." he chuckled, "I don't think you'll ever understand. It's my destiny to destroy the Moon and the Water Tribe."

"Destroying the moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone – including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world." Aang replied

"He is right, Zhao!"

Everyone looked at the source. For now, Iris was gonna call him Zuko's gramps until she finds out about their real relationship.

"General Iroh," Zhao greeted him in a monotone, "why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"

Okay. First Iroh's name struck a chord with her. where had she heard that name before. And he was a general? Okay then. She'll refer to him as Iroh from now on.

"I'm no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon too. We all depend on balance." Iroh said

Zhao frowned, looking ready to give the death sentence to the kids he was opposing.

"Whatever you have planned for the spirit I'll unleash on you ten-fold!" Iroh assumed his firebending stance, "Abandon this insanity, now, Zhao!"

Iroh and Zhao locked eyes for a moment, then Zhao faltered, lowering the hold and stance.

Iris knew that move. She'd seen it so many times and done it so many times. The fake dropping off guard. She quickly conjured a shield around the pond with koi and placed a disillusionment charm on it.

Zhao kneeled slightly and looked down at the ground. And the quickly he was overtaken by a look of madness and desperation. With a cry of rage, he stood and fired a big powerful fireblast.

Iris's eyes widened as she tackled Katara down, Sokka doing the same with Aang. She couldn't have conjured another shield when she was already holding one with a charm on top.

She winced and covered for them both with her arms and body only to hear a loud crack.

"Okay?" she whispered and Katara nodded

She slowly got up and looked at the shield. It had a crack, but still very intact. Go spirit energy!

She looked at Yue, who looked a little shaken but other than that, fine.

She looked at Zhao, who looked shocked and impressed at the same time.

Iroh sprung instantly to the attack before any of them could. Crossing the foot bridge, Iroh fired blast after blast. Zhao blocked one blast and backs away while Iroh expertly dispatched Zhao's four guards. Zhao looked on in horror as his men were wiped out by the man old enough to be a grandpa with such ease and precision.

Zhao glared at her one last time, turned, and ran off.

Oh hell no. He wasn't gonna get outta here alive. Or it will be the end of the world.

The guards quickly gather their fallen and leave. Iroh turns around and looks at them, just as Iris stood up and helped Katara.

"Are you kids alright?" he asked

No one answered, just readied themselves should he attack.

"I'm not the one you should be attacking," he said

"Who the hell are you?" Sokka asked

"Language" she muttered under her breath

"I'm Iroh. Firelord Ozai's older brother"

Iris's eyes narrowed. This guy over here was Zuko's uncle? This guy?!

"Leave this oasis now" Aang ordered

Iroh nodded calmly and then walked off. The five stayed there until they were pretty sure he left. Once he did, Katara turned a large chunk of water into ice and blocked the way he came. Iris added a couple of protective charms over it so it won't thaw.

"Are you okay?"

Iris looked as Yue came out of from she was hiding

"Yes. I'm fine. Thank you," she looked at them all, "Thank you for everything you did"

"It's not over yet, princess," Iris grimly replied, "Zhao knows things no one should. We can't let him getaway with such knowledge."

"Iris..." Aang looked at her, knowing what she was talking about.

Iris looked at him, "I'll do the necessary. But," she exhaled, "we still a goddamn navy of fire benders and something tells me we don't have a lot of time or options"

"What do you mean?" Yue asked, worry lacing her voice,

Iris looked at her, expression grim, "We may not win this. I'm sorry, Yue"

"No" she whispered as her eyes turned glassy. She ran to the upper of the Oasis overlooking the entire city. 90% of it was in ruins. Places were on fire. Soot and smoke were in the air.

Tears started prickling her eyes as she started sobbing, "There's no hope now. It's over."

Iris inhaled sharply.

"No, it's not over."

Iris froze and turned around. Aang's face looked pissed and his eyes and tattoos were glowing.

"Kid?" she asked, but she knew she was not going to get a reply. Aang turned and started walking back into the oasis.

"Aang?" Katara called and followed him

Iris and Sokka exchanged a look. She gave him a nod-'Stay with Yue'.

He nodded back and she too ran inside.

Aang, in his trance, walked into the pond. Katara moved to follow, but Iris caught up to her and held her arm.

"It's spirit business" she muttered

Aang entered the middle of the pond, arms in prayer position. He looked down at the two fishes who begin to glow. And then the pond started glowing. And then he dropped into the pond as if the bottom had fallen out of it and he disappeared.

"Aang!" Katara called out. Iris's breath hitched.

And then suddenly, the water in the pool around the oasis itself began to glow a deep blue-veined with white. The glow spread from behind the citadel to encompass the entire citadel area of the city. The two girls looked in wonder at the awesome power coming to life before them. A huge, incandescent blue wave rushed under the footbridge as if some huge creature was moving underneath it.

"Sweet Mother of Merlin" Iris muttered eyes wide at the thing that just rose. The blue, white-veined creature was a huge fish-like being.

Not only did it easily tower over Appa, it pretty towered over the whole fucking city.

At its center was a blue-white bubble with Aang in it, who spreads his arms wide. A moment later, the massive fish suit, duplicated the motion.

"come on" Iris tugged Katara as the two made their way to where Sokka and Yue were.

"Is that..." Sokka asked as soon as he saw them

"Yup," Iris quipped. Yue, eyeing the big fish-man-spirit-suit encasing Aang, bowed down to it. Iris looked down to see all the waterbender, in fact, all the water tribespeople bowed to the ground in honor of their gods.

"This is gonna be fun" Iris deadpanned

* * *

Across the canal, some Fire Nation soldiers raised their spears in defiance but were swept away by a wall of water sent by the Spirits. Inside the massive body, Aang flailed his arms about, directing the power of the angry Spirits against the violators of the Spirits and the Water Tribe City.

Fire Nation tanks fired blasts of fire at the massive spirit suit, but they were absorbed with no effect. The soldiers and tanks were washed away as if they were toys. The massive Spirit passed by the Water Tribe citizens who made obeisance to their lords.

"This is what I'm talking about" Iris muttered in amusement as the Fire Nation army started retreating, desperately trying to escape the vengeance of a living Spirit. The Spirit reached the main canal in front of the third wall and melted into it.

Iris looked around when her eyes finally spotted a fleeing Zhao. Her hand reached for her fan.

"Keep an eye on the kid. I've got some unfinished business"

She turned around and entered the oasis. She picked her dagger from where Zhao had thrown it and then rushed outside.

She took quick turns and spotted Zhao making his way to a footbridge. She quickly climbed atop a barrel and then swinging on a roof rod, she landed on the footbridge in front of Zhao.

she took her stance and flared her fans, battle-ready.

"We have some scores to settle," she deadpanned. Zhao faltered and stopped, still holding his hurt shoulder.

Snarling, he tried to turn around only to be almost hit by a blast of fire. Something that clearly missed Iris. So it was a warning shot for Zhao only. Iris slightly craned her neck and saw Zuko. A very bruised Zuko, blocking his other way out

"You're alive?" Zhao demanded incredulously

"You tried to have me killed!" Zuko shouted back

Zuko launched a few fire blasts at Zhao with a cry of anguish. none of them hit Iris, though she still had to dodge them. Zhao dodged them as well, rolling along the parapet wall.

"Yes, I did. You're the Blue Spirit – and enemy of the Fire Nation!"

Iris rolled her eyes. Wow. Big reveal. She shook her head slightly and casting an _Aguamenti_ , she froze the water with a _Glacius_ as soon as it enveloped Zhao. Zuko looked at her.

And she looked back at him, question in her gaze. She almost frowned when she saw something akin to understanding in his eyes. Interesting. She could vaguely hear the destruction the enormous spirit suit was causing, but she had other priorities, right now.

She heard a crack and barely had a few seconds before Zhao thawed the ice around him and freed himself.

"I can take your both" he growled

Her fans opened with a snap and she sent out her _Ventus_. It wasn't as strong as it was in the Oasis, something which Zhao seemed to notice.

Despite the 2v/s1 fight going on, Iris had to give Zhao some props. He was holding well against a firebender and an energybender, despite being hurt. Also, Iris had no idea how she and Zuko ended up on the same side, but somehow during the whole fight, they did.

Iris used another _Aguamenti-Glacius_ combo and blocked Zhao's only other possible exit. The other was through them.

"You freed the Avatar!" Zhao snarled

"I had no choice!" Zuko snapped back

"You should have chosen to accept your failure – your disgrace! Then, at least you could have lived!" with that began his tirade of fire blasts. They were either deflected by Iris or Zuko or both.

"Can you do the fire dome?"

Iris's head snapped towards Zuko, who was still glaring at Zhao. Did he just talk to her? Wait, how does he even remember that? Did the spell not work?

Zuko looked at her with the corner of his eyes, "Can you?"

Okay, she had no idea what he was planning, but if he was going to double-cross her, well, she'd have to end two people then. She gave him a vague nod.

"I'd need control over that"

What the fuck was going through his head?

She vaguely nodded, while going over some contingency plans of her own.

Zuko engaged Zhao and then she stood behind. She took a deep breath and then did the spell the way she remembered.

Zuko jumped back as soon as flames started enveloping Zhao and soon he was trapped in a firestorm dome-like structure. Zuko looked at her and she gave him a nod. Zuko extended his hands and tried to take control of that fire. Iris had no idea what or how to do shit this moment onwards, but she proceeded with what came with instinct. She felt the fire get out of her control but still remained in its shape.

Zuko grunted and she noticed the dome getting squeezing while getting hotter. What ever was Zuko doing?

He grunted and then pulled his hands back as the dome dissipated. Zhao was on his knees, skin pale a sheet and sweat trickling down his forehead in beads

"What did you do?"

"Heat exhaustion" Zuko deadpanned back

Iris had no idea what that meant, but she'll be looking into it.

Zhao tried to stand up but faltered. So whatever Zuko did to him, weakened him to somewhat great measure.

"I'm sure the Firelord would just love to hear the current status on his banished son" Zhao sneered

Iris side-eyed Zuko, who tensed. His hands fisted and his jaw tightened.

"how much of a failure his son is." Zhao weakly stood on his one knee, "A disgrace to the royal family and Firebenders"

Zuko exhaled angrily. Zhao was crossing his line. The more he spoke, the angrier he was getting. He was about to shut him up when something-someone-caught his arm. He looked to his right. Avatar's companion.

"Don't," she said, still holding his forearm, "he's baiting you. Your reaction is going to worsen things"

And she let go. Zuko looked at her for two more seconds than back at Zhao. He still had his smugness, but underneath, he could see the anger and irritation. Oh well.

Before either of the sides could react, an essence of the Spirit suit, in a form of a wave, approached fast and coalesced around the bridge. It grabbed Zhao and began to pull him off the bridge. Zhao struggled and Zuko tried to reach out for him, only to stop when he noticed the lack of the same action from the girl next to him. In fact, she looked...indifferent.

Iris's eyes followed as the wave dragged Zhao under the water and disappeared, fading into nothing but ripples. Feeling the gaze, she turned to her left, where Zuko was looking at her.

"Somethings are beyond our control. Better not meddle with them." she shrugged, and kept a hand on his shoulder, "You aren't the only one who had a beef with him. Also, he had it coming" she looked down at the canal and something clicked. Aang.

"Kid!" she muttered and jumped off the footbridge and started running alongside the canal. She turned around a corner and spotted Katara helping Aang up while Sokka had Yue.

"My God!" she muttered quite loudly. Four eyes landed on her and three of them rushed into her arms and she hugged them tightly.

"I'm so glad you all are fine" she muttered, tightening her hold.

"Us too" Katara muttered

Yue smiled at the four of them. No one noticed a certain prince look at the group, as he turned and walked away before anyone could realize he was there.

* * *

"I've decided to go to the South Pole. Some other benders and healers want to join me." Pakku informed the group, "It's time we helped rebuild our sister tribe."

"Good for you" Iris shrugged, lazily looking at Pakku, who raised a brow in return, she smirked and he smiled, amused.

"What about Aang?" Katara asked, "He still needs to learn waterbending."

A proud smile took place on Pakku's face, "Well, then he better get used to calling you "Master Katara.""

Katara beamed at him. Pakku turned and walked to Iris,

"I was told that you don't like apologies"

"Well, if it's sincere, I'll make an exception" Iris chuckled

Pakku smiled in amusement, "Then I apologize for being prejudiced and judgemental"

Iris took a breath, "I apologize for not being respectful enough" and she extended her hand, which Pakku shook.

"I believe I don't have to ask you to take care"

"Nope. it's implied. Kids will be safe with me"

"I do not doubt it. You are a great friend, Iris"

"Thanks" she smiled

He handed Katara a necklace with a vial, "this is water from the spirit oasis. It's known for its great healing properties"

"Thank you" Katara took it and tied it around her neck.

Pakku nodded back.

Once Pakku and his group left, the gang was approached by Chief Arnook and Yue.

In the last couple of days, Yue and Iris had gotten along talking, while they healed. And they managed to convince the other over a couple of things. While Yue convinced Iris to grow her hair out, Iris encouraged Yue to stand up to what she believed wanted and only _she_ wanted. So Yue broke off her engagement with Hahn and decided to explore what she liked.

"Thank you for everything you've done for our tribe" Arnook smiled at them

"I'm glad we could be helpful" Aang smiled

"I'm glad we could do here what we couldn't back home" Iris exhaled

Yue looked at her with an aristocratic yet friendly smile, "Southern Tribe is now our responsibility. We assure you, we'll do everything in our power to help regain its original glory"

"that'd mean a lot to us" Katara smiled

"Thank You" Sokka added with a smile

Yue just nodded back.

An attendant approached them and Yue took something from him which she extended towards Iris,

"Here. A token of our gratitude. I hope you like it."

Iris picked the dagger. Unlike her obsidian dagger, which was all black, this one had a white blade with a creamish handle, decorated with pearls and seashells with a blueish stone embedded in the hilt.

"It's gorgeous" she exhaled and smiled at Yue and Arnook and bowed to them, "thank you"

Yue also gifted Sokka a club and he looked like Christmas came early.

There was suddenly a change in the air, like an electric discharge followed by a loud pop. Everyone looked at the source as Neva flew down. Iris caught her and caressed her small head

"Oh, baby" she cooed. Neva looked tired and her feathers looked ruffled, literally, "Are you alright, hun?"

Neva chirped softly, falling in her owner's comforting hold.

"Should I get a healer?" Yue asked

Iris looked at Neva, who tiredly closed her eyes. Iris did a quick check. I was all just tiredness from interdimensional travel. Momo peeked at Neva from Aang's shoulders and chittered comfortingly to her.

"She's just tired. A nap and she should be fine"

"Alright then"

* * *

Lying on top of Appa's saddle, one leg over the other, she just looked over the dagger that was gifted to her. She hadn't seen it earlier, but it was so intricate designed. the hilt had carvings on it.

she heard a loud exhale and looked at her stomach where Neva was lying down, sleeping. She just caressed her feathers. Neva had returned with a letter tied to her feet, which Iris quickly removed so Neva could rest better. She still had to read them.

Her eyes landed on Aang and Katara in a hug and she smiled. Best friends, her arse. Momo chittered at them and soon the two included him into the hug too. Sokka walked to them and kept a hand on Aang's shoulder.

A nostalgic smile spread on her lips as she remembered her old days with Hermione and Ron by her side. And now things were different'. She had to save the world without the two people she loved and trusted the most. And she knew that Iroh had suspicions about her. She knew it wouldn't be long before he'd piece the puzzle together to see the picture. Good thing Zuko had pretty much dropped his guard around her while fighting Zhao and she, again, managed to erase all particular memories of her using more than one element.

With an exhale, she laid back, closing her eyes

"Feeling a bit lonely?"

Iris opened one eye to see the kids surrounding her

"Nope" she popped only to be tackled into a hug by the three, who were careful not to hurt or crush Neva. that got a laugh from her. Maybe for once, she'll enjoy the moment rather than worrying about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here ends book 1. Book 2 will start soon.
> 
> You know the drill
> 
> Ciao


	18. Book 2 is up now!

Book 2 Ch1 is up now!! Pls check that out and lemme know how it was.


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